A  History  of  Norwegian  Immigration 


to 


The  United  States 

From  the  Earliest  Beginning  down  to  the  Year  1848 


By 
GEORGE  T.  FLOM,  Ph.  D.  (Columbia) 

Professor  of  Scandinavian  Languages  and  Literatures  and  Acting  Professor  of 
English  Philology,  State  University  of  Iowa 


PRIVATELY  PRINTED 

IOWA  CITY,  IOWA 

1909 


COPYRIGHT  1909 
GEORGE  T.  FLOM 


THE  TORCH   PRI  S3 

CEDAR   RAPIDS 

IOWA 


To  MY  MOTHER 

THROUGH  WHOM  I  HAVE  COME  TO  UNDERSTAND  SOME 
THING  OF  THE  HEROIC  WOMANHOOD  EXEMPLIFIED  IN  THE 
LIVES  OF  OUR  PIONEER  MOTHERS,  THIS  VOLUME  IS 
AFFECTIONATELY  INSCRIBED 


FOREWORD 

This  volume  is  intended  to  present  the  progress 
of  immigration  from  Norway  to  this  country  from 
the  beginning  down  through  what  may  be  termed  the 
first  period  of  settlement.  It  is  possible  that  I  may 
at  some  future  time  return  to  these  studies  to  trace 
the  further  growth  of  the  Scandinavian  element  and 
its  place  and  influence  in  American  life. 

Four  years  ago  I  contributed  an  article  to  The 
Iowa  Journal  of  History  and  Politics  upon  "The 
Scandinavian  Factor  in  the  American  Population/' 
in  which  I  discussed  briefly  the  causes  of  emigration 
from  the  Northern  countries.  This  article  forms  the 
basis  of  chapters  VT-VIII  of  the  present  volume, 
much  new  evidence  from  later  years  having,  however, 
been  added.  In  a  subsequent  issue  of  the  same  Jour 
nal  I  published  an  article  on  "The  Coming  of  the 
Norwegians  to  Iowa,"  which  is  embodied  in  part  in 
chapters  III-V  of  this  volume.  The  remaining 
thirty-six  chapters  are  new.  During  the  last  three 
summers  I  have  continued  my  investigation  of  that 
part  of  the  subject  which  deals  with  the  immigration 
movement.  This  book  represents  the  results  of  that 
investigation  down  to  1848. 

For  invaluable  assistance  in  the  investigation  I 
gratefully  acknowledge  indebtedness  to  the  numer 
ous  pioneers  whom,  from  time  to  time,  I  have  inter 
viewed  and  who  so  kindly  have  given  the  aid  sought. 


8  FOREWORD 

I  wish  to  thank,  also,  several  persons  who  generously 
have  accepted  the  task  of  personally  gathering  pion 
eer  data  for  certain  localities.  For  such  help  I  owe 
a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  following  persons :  J.  W. 
Johnson,  Eacine,  Wisconsin ;  Eeverend  A.  Jacobson, 
Decorah,  Iowa;  Eeverend  G-.  A.  Larsen,  Clinton, 
Wisconsin ;  Henry  Natesta,  Clinton,  Wisconsin ;  Eev. 
0.  J.  Kvale,  Orf ordville,  Wisconsin ;  Eev.  J.  Nordby, 
Lee,  Illinois;  Dr.  N.  C.  Evans,  Mt.  Horeb,  Wiscon 
sin;  M.  J.  Engebretson,  Gratiot,  Wisconsin;  Dan  K. 
Anderson  and  wife,  Woodford,  Wisconsin;  Ole  Ja 
cobson,  Elk  Horn,  Wisconsin ;  Samuel  Sampson,  Eio, 
Wisconsin;  T.  M.  Newton,  Grinnell,  Iowa;  Harvey 
Arveson,  Whitewater,  Wisconsin;  and  Eeverend 
Helge  Hoverstad,  Mt.  Horeb,  Wisconsin.  My  thanks 
are  also  due  to  Eeverend  G.  G.  Krostu  of  Koshkon- 
ong  Parsonage  for  having  placed  at  my  disposal  the 
Koshkonong  Church  Eegister  from  1844-1850 ;  as  also 
for  verifying  my  copy  of  it  in  some  cases  of  names 
and  dates;  for  the  privilege  accorded  me  of  using 
these  so  precious  documents  I  am  most  grateful. 
Eeverend  K.  A.  Kasberg  of  Spring  Grove,  Minne 
sota,  has  given  me  certain  important  data  on  part 
of  the  immigration  to  East  Koshkonong  in  1842,  and 
similarly  N.  A.  Lie  of  Deerfield,  Wisconsin,  for  immi 
gration  from  Voss  in  1838-1844,  and  Mr.  Elim 
Ellingson  and  wife  of  Capron,  Illinois,  on  the  found 
ers  of  the  Long  Prairie  Settlement.  Many  others 
might  be  mentioned  who  have  given  valuable  assist 
ance  by  letter  and  otherwise  in  the  course  of  the 
investigation,  and  to  whom  I  owe  much.  Finally,  I 


FOREWORD  9 

wish  to  thank  Dr.  N.  C.  Evans  of  Mt.  Horeb,  Wis 
consin,  for  the  loan  of  Cyclopedia  of  Wisconsin 
(1906)  andlllustreretKirkehistorie  (Chicago,  1898)  ; 
Mr.  0.  N.  Falk  of  Stoughton,  Wisconsin,  for  loaning 
me  Billed-Magazin  for  1869-1870,  and  my  brother, 
Martin  0.  Flom,  of  Stoughton,  for  securing  for  my 
use  several  Wisconsin  Atlases  and  a  copy  of  The 
Biographical  Review  of  Dane  County  (1893). 

Of  published  works  on  Norwegian  immigration 
which  I  have  found  especially  useful  are  to  be  men 
tioned  S.  Nilsen's  Billed-Magazin  on  causes  of 
immigration  and  the  earliest  immigrants  from  Tele- 
marken  and  Numedal;  R.  B.  Anderson 's  First 
Chapter  on  Norwegian  Immigration  for  the  sloopers 
of  1825,  and  their  descendants;  Strand's  History  of 
the  Norwegians  in  Illinois  (1905)  for  the  Norwegians 
in  Chicago;  H.  L.  Ska vl em's  sketch  of  Scandina 
vians  in  the  Early  Days  of  Rock  County,  Wisconsin, 
Normandsforbundet  for  February,  1909,  and  several 
articles  in  Symra,  1905-1908.  I  must  also  mention  a 
most  valuable  series  of  articles  on  the  Rock  Prairie 
Settlement,  Kock  County,  Wisconsin,  which  ap 
peared  in  Amerika  in  1906.  (See  further  the  Bib 
liography  at  the  end  of  this  volume.) 

No  one  who  has  never  been  engaged  in  a  similar 
undertaking  can  have  any  conception  of  the  difficulty 
of  the  task  and  the  labor  involved  in  the  collecting, 
weighing  and  sifting  of  the  vast  amount  of  detail 
material.  I  have  tried  to  write  a  work  which  shall 
be  correct  as  to  details  and  historically  reliable. 
That  errors  have  crept  in  I  doubt  not.  I  shall  be 


10  FOREWORD 

grateful  to  the  reader  who  may  discover  such  errors 
if  he  will  call  my  attention  to  them. 

Finally,  I  wish  to  say  that  I  have  attempted 
nothing  complete  with  reference  to  the  personal 
sketches  of  the  earliest  pioneers ;  this  was  manifestly 
impossible.  I  have  thought  also  that  this  was  not 
here  called  for  except  in  cases  of  founders  of  settle 
ments,  and  even  here  I  have  sometimes  lacked  the 
full  facts.  To  many  it  will  also  undoubtedly  seem 
that  the  early  days  of  the  church  and  the  founding 
of  congregations  should  have  received  more  atten 
tion.  I  can  only  say  that  this  volume  deals  spe 
cifically  with  the  causes,  course  and  progress  of 
Norwegian  immigration  and  that  this  plan  precluded 
a  discussion  in  this  volume  of  religious  and  educa 
tional  movements  among  the  pioneers,  or  of  social 
questions,  occupations,  public  service,  and  like 
topics.  The  work  thus  aims  to  keep  only  what  the 
title  promises,  and  I  hope  it  will  be  found  to  be  a  real 
contribution  to  history  within  the  scope  marked  out 
for  it. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION 15 

CHAPTER  I.  Norway.  Population,  Resources,  Pur 
suits  of  her  People,  Social  Conditions,  Laws 
and  Institutions 18 

CHAPTER  II.     Emigration  from  Norway         .         .  27 

CHAPTER  III.  The  Earliest  Immigrants  from  Nor 
way,  1620  to  1825 35 

CHAPTER  IV.  The  Sloopers  of  1825.  The  First 
Norwegian  Settlement  in  America.  Kleng 
Peerson  ........  45 

CHAPTER  V.  The  Founding  of  the  Fox  River  Set 
tlement.  Personal  Notes  on  Some  of  the 
Founders 55 

CHAPTER  VI.  Causes  of  Emigration  from  Norway. 

General  Factors,  Economic  ....  64 

CHAPTER  VII.  Causes  of  Emigration  Continued. 
Special  Factors.  Religion  as  a  Cause.  Emi 
gration  Agents 73 

CHAPTER  VIII.  Causes  of  Emigration  Continued. 
The  Influence  of  Successful  Pioneers.  "Amer 
ica-Letters."  The  Spirit  of  Adventure.  Sum 
mary  80 

CHAPTER  IX.  Growth  of  the  Fox  River  Settlement. 
The  Immigration  of  1836.  Further  Personal 
Sketches 89 

CHAPTER  X.  The  Year  1837  Continued.  The  Sail 
ing  of  Aegir  .......  97 

CHAPTER  XI.     Beaver  Creek.     Ole  Rynning          .         102 


12  NORWEGIAN   IMMIGRATION 

CHAPTER  XII.  Some  of  the  Immigrants  of  1837. 
The  First  Pathfinders  from  Numedal  and  Tele- 
marken  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  108 

CHAPTER  XIII.  Ansten  Nattestad's  Return  to  Nor 
way  in  1838.  The  Year  1839.  Immigration 
Assumes  Larger  Proportions.  The  Course  of 
Settlement  Changes 116 

CHAPTER  XIV.  Shelby  County,  Missouri.  Ansten 
Nattestad's  Return  from  Norway  in  1839.  The 
Founding  of  the  Jefferson  Prairie  Settlement 
in  Rock  County,  Wisconsin  .  .  .  .  125 

CHAPTER  XV.  The  Earliest  White  Settlers  on 
Rock  and  Jefferson  Prairies.  The  Founding  of 
the  Rock  Prairie  Settlement.  The  Earliest  Set 
tlers  on  Rock  Prairie 135 

CHAPTER  XVI.     The  Rock  Run  Settlement.     Other 

Immigrants  of  1839.     The  Immigration  of  1840        147 

CHAPTER  XVII.  The  Settlement  of  Norway  and 
Raymond  Townships,  Racine  County.  The 
Founders  of  the  Settlement.  Immigration  to 
Racine  County  in  1841-1842  ...  155 

CHAPTER  XVIII.     The  Establishment  of  the  Kosh- 

konong  Settlement  in  Dane  County,  Wisconsin         164 

CHAPTER  XIX.  The  Settling  of  Koshkonong  by 
Immigrants  from  Numedal  and  Stavanger  in 
1840.  Other  Accessions  in  1841-1842  .  .  172 

CHAPTER  XX.  New  Accessions  to  the  Koshkonong 
Settlement  in  1840-1841.  The  Growth  of  the 
Settlement  in  1842 180 

CHAPTER  XXI.     The  First  Norwegian  Settlement 

in  Iowa,  at  Sugar  Creek  in  Lee  County         .         190 

CHAPTER  XXII.  The  Earliest  Norwegian  Settlers 
at  Wiota,  La  Fayette  County,  and  Dodgeville, 
Iowa  County,  Wisconsin  ....  198 


CONTENTS  13 

CHAPTER  XXIII.  Growth  of  the  Jefferson  Prairie 
Settlement  from  1841  to  1845.  The  First  Nor 
wegian  Land  Owners  in  Rock  County  .  .  204 

CHAPTER  XXIV.  Immigration  to  Rock  Prairie 
from  Numedal  and  Land  in  1842  and  Subse 
quent  Years 211 

CHAPTER  XXV.  Immigration  from  Hallingdal, 
Norway,  to  Rock  Prairie  from  1843  to  1848. 
Continued  Immigration  from  Numedal.  Other 
Early  Accessions  ......  216 

CHAPTER  XXVI.  Economic  Conditions  of  Immi 
grants.  Cost  of  Passage.  Course  of  the  Jour 
ney.  Duration  of  the  Journey  .  .  .  221 

CHAPTER  XXVII.  Norwegians  in  Chicago,  1840- 
1845.  A  Vossing  Colony.  Some  Early  Set 
tlers  in  Chicago  from  Hardanger  .  .  230 

CHAPTER  XXVIII.  The  Earliest  Norwegian  Set 
tlers  in  the  Township  of  Pleasant  Spring,  Dane 
County,  Wisconsin  241 

CHAPTER  XXIX.  The  First  Norwegian  Settlers 
in  the  Townships  of  Dunkirk,  Dunn,  and  Cot 
tage  Grove,  in  Dane  County,  Wisconsin  .  249 

CHAPTER  XXX.  The  Expansion  of  the  Koshkon- 
ong  Settlement  into  Sumner  and  Oakland 
Townships  in  Jefferson  County.  Increased 
Immigration  from  Telemarken.  New  Settlers 
from  Kragero,  Drammen  and  Numedal  .  255 

CHAPTER  XXXI.  The  Coming  of  the  First  Large 
Party  of  Immigrants  from  Sogn.  New  Acces 
sions  from  Voss 265 

CHAPTER  XXXII.  Long  Prairie  in  Boone  County, 

Illinois;  A  Sogning  Settlement  .  .  .  272 

CHAPTER  XXXIII.  The  Growth  of  the  Racine 

County  (Muskego)  Settlement,  1843-1847.  278 


14  NORWEGIAN   IMMIGRATION 

CHAPTER  XXXIV.  The  Heart  Prairie  Settlement 

in  Wai  worth  Co.,  Wis.  Skoponong.  Pine  Lake  289 

CHAPTER  XXXV.  The  Earliest  Norwegian  Settlers 
at  Sugar  Creek,  Walworth  County,  Wisconsin. 
The  Influx  from  Land,  Norway,  to  Wiota  and 
Vicinity,  1844-1852 300 

CHAPTER  XXXVI.  Continued  Immigration  from 
Aurland,  Sogn,  to  Koshkonong.  The  Arrival 
of  Settlers  from  Vik  Parish,  Sogn,  in  1845  .  305 

CHAPTER  XXXVII.  Kirkeregister.  Church  Reg 
ister  of  East  Koshkonong,  West  Koshkonong 
and  Liberty  Prairie  Congregations  as  Consti 
tuted  During  the  Years  of  Reverend  J.  W.  C. 
Dietrichson 's  Incumbency  of  the  Pastorate 
from  1844  to  1850,  and  as  Recorded  by  Rever 
end  Dietrichson 314 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII.  The  Founding  of  the  Nor 
wegian  Settlements  of  Norway  Grove,  Spring 
Prairie  and  Bonnet  Prairie  in  Dane  and  Col 
umbia  Counties,  Wisconsin  .  .  .  .  331 

CHAPTER  XXXIX.  Blue  Mounds  in  Western  Dane 

County,  Wisconsin  340 

CHAPTER  XL.  The  Hardanger  Settlement  in  Lee 
and  De  Kalb  Counties,  Illinois.  Big  Grove 
in  Kendall  County,  and  Nettle  Creek  in  Grundy 
County,  Illinois  .  .  .  .  .  .  350 

CHAPTER  XLI.  The  First  Norwegian  Pioneers  in 

Northeastern  Iowa  362 

CHAPTER  XLII.  Survey  of  Immigration  from  Nor 
way  to  America.  Conclusion  „  .  .  375 

APPENDIX  I 383 

APPENDIX  II     ..        .        .        ..        .        .        .        386 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  . 387 

INDEX  389 


INTRODUCTION 

In  this  volume  I  shall  aim  to  give  an  account  of 
the  Norwegian  immigration  movement  from  1825 
down  to  1848.  Thereupon  will  follow  a  brief  survey 
of  the  course  of  the  movement  and  the  growth  of  the 
settlements  founded  here  in  that  period.  In  the  in 
troductory  pages  I  shall  discuss  briefly  individual 
immigration  from  Norway  from  its  earliest  known 
beginnings  down  to  1825. 

Immigration  from  Norway  resulted  in  the  found 
ing  of  settlements  in  New  York,  Illinois,  Wisconsin 
and  Iowa  successively;  I  shall  try  to  give  a  correct 
narrative  of  the  beginnings  and  the  growth  of  these 
settlements.  In  this  part  of  the  work  I  shall  stress 
the  oldest  and  largest  settlements  in  Southern  Wis 
consin  and  Northern  Illinois,  for  the  relation  of 
these  to  the  whole  movement  and  later  colonization  of 
the  Northwestern  States  by  the  Norwegians  is  one 
of  especial  importance.  I  shall  treat  somewhat  fully 
of  the  causes  of  emigration,  of  the  growth  of  the 
movement,  and  the  part  in  it  that  each  district  or 
province  in  Norway  has  played.  The  leaders  from 
each  district  and  the  founders  of  the  settlements 
here  will  be  named  and  in  many  cases,  sketches  will 
be  given  of  their  lives.  Such  questions  as  the  course 
of  the  movement  in  Norway,  the  cost  of  the  voyage, 
the  course  of  the  journey,  early  wage  conditions, 
the  economic  conditions  of  the  immigrants,  the 


16  INTRODUCTION 

geographical  trend  of  settlement,  will  also  be  con 
sidered,  and  approximately  complete  lists  of  the  ac 
cessions  in  each  settlement  for  the  first  few  years 
will  be  given.  The  limits  of  this  volume,  how 
ever,  will  preclude  the  treatment  of  social  or 
cultural  questions,  or  to  take  more  than  the  briefest 
notice  of  the  pursuits  and  occupations  of  the  Nor 
wegian-American  and  his  contribution  to  American 
life.  I  hope  to  be  able  to  treat  elsewhere,  later,  of 
some  of  these  problems. 

The  story  of  the  immigrant  settler  is  one  that 
is  well  worth  the  telling;  it  is  one  that  is  justly  re 
ceiving  increased  attention  in  recent  years.  I  be 
lieve  that  the  writer  of  American  history  will,  in  the 
future,  pay  far  greater  attention  than  he  has  in  the 
past  to  the  immigrant  pioneer  as  a  factor  in  the  de 
velopment  of  the  nation.  There  are  in  America  to 
day  about  one  million  people  of  Norwegian  birth,  or 
Norwegian  parentage.  That  is,  there  are  nearly 
half  as  many  of  that  nationality  in  America  as  in 
Norway  itself.  The  transplanting  of  so  large  a  pro 
portion  of  a  race  from  the  land  to  which  it  is  rooted 
by  birth  and  by  its  history  is  indeed  remarkable. 

Various  European  peoples  have  contributed  to 
the  growth  of  the  American  population;  they  have 
each  given  something  to  the  sum  total  of  present 
American  life  and  in  some  measure  helped  to 
shape  American  institutions.  As  a  people  Amer 
ica  is  yet  in  the  formative  period;  racially, 
at  least,  one-half  of  the  population  is  not 


INTRODUCTION  17 

Anglo-Saxon.  It  is  by  the  amalgamation  of 
all  its  ethnic  factors  that  the  future  American  people 
will  be  evolved.  The  contribution  that  each  foreign 
element  will  make  to  that  evolution  will  be  deter 
mined  by  the  civilization,  which  each  represents  as 
its  racial  heritage,  the  culture  which,  in  the  course  of 
its  history,  each  has  evolved  as  a  people  and  a  nation. 
As  the  true  student  of  American  history  takes  note 
of  these  things  in  the  future,  the  significance  of  the 
foreign  factor  in  the  growth  and  the  upbuilding  of 
the  country  will  receive  its  just  recognition. 

We  of  Norse  blood,  but  American  birth,  if  we  are 
true  to  the  best  that  is  in  us,  cannot  fail  to  have  an 
interest  in  the  trials  and  the  achievements  of  the 
pioneer  fathers.  We  must  recognize  the  true  hero 
ism  of  the  men  and  women  who  braved  the  hardships 
and  suffered  the  privations  of  frontier  life  in  the 
thirties,  the  forties  and  the  fifties.  The  part  that 
the  pioneers  of  those  days  played  in  the  development 
of  the  Northwest  was  a  great  one;  in  comparison 
with  it  that  of  the  present  generation  is  wholly  in 
significant.  It  is  to  the  memory  of  those  pioneers, 
in  recognition  of  their  true  worth,  that  this  record 
of  their  coming  is  dedicated. 


CHAPTER  I 

Norway:   Population,   Resources,   Pursuits   of   her 
People,  Social  Conditions,  Laws  and  Institutions. 

Norway  is,  as  we  know,  a  long  and  narrow  strip 
of  country  in  the  west  of  the  Scandinavian  Penin 
sula,  stretching  through  thirteen  degrees  of  latitude, 
and  in  the  north,  extending  almost  three  hundred 
miles  into  the  arctic  zone.  Nearly  a  third  of  the 
entire  country  l  is  the  domain  of  the  midnight  sun, 
where  summer  is  the  season  of  daylight  and  winter 
is  one  long  unbroken  night.  Even  in  Southern  Nor 
way  total  darkness  is  unknown  in  summer,  the  night 
being  merely  a  period  of  twilight.  In  Christiania 
the  nights  are  light  from  April  twentieth  to  the  third 
week  in  August,  in  Trondhjem,  a  week  more  at 
either  end.  In  the  latter  city  there  is  broad  day 
light  at  midnight  from  May  twenty-third  to  July 
twentieth.  Correspondingly  there  is  a  period  of 
continuous  darkness  in  the  extreme  north.  Thus  at 
Tromso  the  sun  is  not  visible  between  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  November  and  the  sixteenth  day  of  Janu 
ary.  The  long  night  is  therefore  short  as  compared 
with  the  long  day  of  summer.  Climatically,  also, 
Norway  is  naturally  a  land  of  extremes,  extending, 
as  it  does,  over  such  a  vast  area  north  and  south. 
Yet  the  populous  portion  of  the  country,  the  south 
ern  two-thirds,  is  not  appreciably  colder  than  the 

)r~over  thirty-eight  thousand  square  miles. 


NORWAY:     POPULATION,  ETC.  19 

State  of  Iowa  and  the  southern  half  of  Wisconsin 
and  Minnesota.  The  winter  is  severest  in  the  great 
inland  valleys.  Gudbrandsdalen,  Valders  and  Hal- 
lingdal,  but  especially  in  Osterdalen.  In  the  last- 
named  valley  the  lowest  temperature  ever  observed 
has  been  recorded,  namely,  50°,  mercury  often  hav 
ing  been  frozen.2  The  winter  is  also  excessively 
long  in  these  valleys;  in  Fjeldberg  and  Jerkin  in 
the  Dovre  Mountains  the  temperature  is  below  the 
freezing  point  two  hundred  days  in  the  year.  In 
the  south  and  in  the  west  coast-districts  the  climate 
is  more  uniform  and  more  temperate.  Northern 
Norway,  with  its  gulf  stream  coast,  presents  the 
same  general  climatic  conditions  as  Western  and 
Southern  Norway ;  the  inland  region  of  extreme  cold 
is  limited  because  of  the  very  limited  inland  area, 
which  also  is  very  sparsely  populated. 3 

2  Compare  Bjornson's  account  of  the  temperature  at  Kvikne  in 
his  autobiographical  sketch,  Blakkcji. 

3  The  statistical  and  much  of  the  other  matter  in  this  chapter  has 
been  taken  from  Norway,  Official  Publication  for  the  Paris  Exhibition, 
1900,  published  at  Christiania.     But  I  am  also  indebted  to  the  stately 
publication  by   Norwegian  authors  and  artists  entitled  Norge   i  det 
nittende  Aarhundrede,   2    volumes,   large   folio,   436   and   468   pages. 
Christiania,  1900.  The  scholars  who  published  this  are  W.  C.  Brb'gger,  B. 
Getz,  A.  N.  Kjccr,  Moltke  Moe,  Bredo  Morgenstjerne,  Gerhard  Munthe, 
Frith;j  of  Nansen,  Eilif  Peterssen,  Nordahl  Eolfsen,  J.  E.  Sars,  Gustav 
Storm   and    E.    Werenskjold.     The   editor   in    chief    for   the   texts   is 
Nordahl  Eolfsen,   for  the  illustrations  E.   Werenskjold.     There   is   a 
large  staff  of  collaborators,  each  article  is  prepared  by  a  specialist; 
the   whole  is   a   rare   piece   of  book-making.     The   printers   are   Alb. 
Cammermeyers  Forlag,  Christiania.     I  wish  to  mention  also  especially 
here  Christensen's  Det  nittende  Aarhundredes  Kulturkamp  i  Norge, 
Christiania,   1905. 


20  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

The  population  of  Norway4  is  very  unevenly 
distributed,  the  north  being  rather  thinly  settled.  The 
area  of  Norway  is  124,495  square  miles,  or  somewhat 
more  than  that  of  Wisconsin  and  Illinois  together. 
About  four  per  cent  of  this,  however,  is  covered  by 
lakes,  and  the  average  number  of  inhabitants  to  the 
square  mile  is  only  seventeen.  The  corresponding 
figures  of  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile  for  Sweden 
is  twen ty- eight ;  for  Denmark,  however,  it  is  one 
hundred  and  forty-eight,  and  for  all  Europe,  it  is 
ninety-eight.  The  density  of  population  is  greatest 
in  Larvik  and  Jarlsberg  on  the  south  (barring 
the  cities  of  Christiania  and  Bergen).  In  these 
provinces  there  are  one  hundred  and  sixteen  inhab 
itants  to  the  square  mile.  In  Hedemarken  the  num 
ber  falls  to  twelve.  The  western  fjord  districts, 
those  of  Trondhjem  Fjord,  the  Sogne  Fjord  and  the 
Hardanger  Fjord  are  thickly  populated. 

Norway  is  a  land  of  fjords  and  lakes,  of  moun 
tains  and  glacier  expanses.  Less  than  one-fourth 
of  the  country  is  capable  of  cultivation,  and  eighty 
per  cent  of  this  is  forest  land.  This  leaves  less  than 
five  per  cent  under  actual  cultivation.  We  may 
compare  again  with  Denmark,  where  seventy-six  per 
cent  of  the  land  is  cultivated,  while  in  all  Europe 
the  ratio  is  forty  per  cent. 

Norway's  climate  is  noted  for  its  healthfulness, 5 

4  It  was  1,490,950  in  1855,  2,350,000  in  1908. 

5  Dr.  A.  Magelson  of  Christiania  has  recently  written  a  work  on 
Norway  as  a  health  resort  entitled:     To  Norway  for  Health.     A  Sci 
entific  Account  of  the  Peculiar  Advantages  of  the  Norwegian  Climate, 
published  by  Nikolai  Olson,  Christiania. 


NORWAY:     POPULATION,  ETC.  21 

and  its  inhabitants  attain  a  higher  degree  of  long 
evity  than  those  of  most  other  European  countries. 
Nearly  seven  per  cent  of  its  people  reach  the  age  of 
sixty  to  seventy,  while  one  per  cent  attain  to  the  age 
of  from  ninety  to  one  hundred  years.  That  is,  reck 
oned  as  a  whole,  about  twelve  per  cent  attain  to  the 
age  of  sixty  years  or  more.  This  is  considerable  in 
excess  of  that  of  nearly  all  other  European  coun 
tries. 

The  average  age  in  Norway  is  fifty,  while  for 
instance,  in  Italy  it  is  thirty-five.  But  the  expect 
ancy  is  far  more  than  this  for  him  who  passes  in 
fancy  ;  thus  if  one  attains  to  the  age  of  fifty  in  Nor 
way,  one  still  may  expect  to  live  twenty-three  years. 
Such  is  the  health  and  the  expectancy  of  life  among 
our  immigrants  from  Norway. 

The  predominant  pursuit  in  Norway  is  agricul 
ture,  cattle  farming  and  forest  cultivation.  Herein 
forty-eight  per  cent  of  the  population  seeks  its  main 
tenance.  The  immigrant  pioneer  generally  selects 
in  America  the  pursuit  or  occupation  for  which  he 
has  been  trained  in  his  native  country.  And  so  we 
find  that  the  great  majority  of  Norwegian  immigrants 
have  sought  homes  in  rural  communities  and  engaged 
in  farming  and  related  pursuits.  In  fact,  more  than 
eighty-eight  per  cent  of  our  Norwegian  immigrants 
have  come  from  rural  communities.  Twenty-three 
per  cent  of  the  population  of  Norway  are  engaged 
in  industries  and  mining.  To  these  occupations  in 
this  country,  Norway  has,  especially  in  the  later 
period  of  immigration,  contributed  a  considerable 


22  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

share.  A  little  over  eight  per  cent  of  her  people  are 
engaged  in  fishing.  And  so  we  find  that  a  propor 
tionately  very  large  amount  of  the  New  England 
fisheries  is  conducted  hy  fishermen  who  have  come 
from  Norway.  Navigation  engages  six  per  cent  of 
the  population  of  Norway.  In  this  connection  I  note 
that  our  warships  in  the  Spanish-American  war 
were  many  of  them  manned  almost  exclusively  by 
Norwegian  sailors ; 6  and  there  were  Norwegians  in 
the  American  marine  service  as  early  as  the  War  of 
Independence,  as  again  in  no  small  proportion  in  the 
Civil  War  in  the  sixties. 

Perhaps  about  five  per  cent  of  Norway's  pop 
ulation  is  engaged  in  intellectual  work.  Here,  too, 
the  contribution  of  Norway  to  our  population  in 
America  has  been  considerable,  especially  during  the 
last  twenty  years. 

Nearly  all  of  the  Norwegian  population  is  of 
the  Protestant  faith,  and  the  great  majority  of  these 
are  members  of  the  state  church,  which  is  the  Lu 
theran.  Somewhat  similar  are  the  affiliations  in 
America. 

The  constitution  of  Norway  is  liberal  and  the 
government  highly  democratic.  In  these  respects 
the  people  of  Norway  are  now  perhaps  as  favorably 
circumstanced  as  we  in  America.  The  Norwegian 
readily  enters  into  the  spirit  of  American  laws  and 

6  The  Reliance  which  defended  the  America  cup  against  Sham 
rock  III  in  1903  was  manned  almost  exclusively  by  Norwegians.  They 
were  from  the  following  towns  in  Norway:  Arendal,  Aalesund, 
Stavanger,  Bergen,  Larvik,  Christiania,  and  Haugesund. 


NORWAY:     POPULATION,  ETC.  23 

institutions,  for  their  laws  are  not  essentially  dif 
ferent  from  his  own.  Being  accustomed  to  a  high 
degree  of  freedom,  he  has  been  trained  to  a  high  con 
ception  of  the  responsibilities  that  that  freedom  en 
tails.  He  has  long  been  accustomed  to  representa 
tion  and  sharing  in  the  rights  of  franchise,  and  he 
exercises  that  right  as  a  privilege  and  a  solemn  duty. 
It  may  be  said,  I  believe,  that  no  people  has  a  higher 
sense  of  right  and  wrong  and  a  stronger  moral  in 
centive  to  right.  Frauds  in  elections  and  graft  in 
official  life  are  yet  unheard-of  among  our  Norwegian- 
American  citizens. 

Norway  is,  next  to  Finland,  the  most  temperate 
of  European  countries.  The  sale  of  liquor  is  per 
mitted  only  in  incorporated  cities  and  towns,  and 
only  by  an  association  that  is  organized  under 
government  supervision.  It  is  the  so-called  Gothen 
burg  system  that  is  in  use.  Of  the  earnings  of  such 
organization  the  government  takes  five  per  cent,  the 
county  ten  per  cent  and  the  municipality  fifteen  per 
cent,  while  the  net  profit  of  the  association  must  not 
exceed  five  per  cent  on  the  investment  in  any  one 
year.  The  hours  of  sale  are  very  much  restricted.  Not 
only  is  there  no  sale  of  liquor  on  Sundays,  but  places 
of  such  business  must  close  at  one  o'clock  on  Satur 
day  and  on  days  preceding  holidays.  Norway  is 
essentially  a  temperate  country.  Statistics  show 
that  out  of  every  thousand  deaths,  only  one  is  due 
to  drink.  The  Norwegian  people  have  educated 
themselves  to  abstinence,  and  the  temperance  move- 


24  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

ment  found  wide  support  earlier  in  Norway  than 
anywhere  else.  Det  norske  Totalafholds  Selskab  7 
was  organized  in  1859;  ten  years  ago  it  had  ten 
hundred  and  twenty  branches  and  a  hundred 
and  thirty  thousand  members,  while  other  temper 
ance  associations  also  have  a  considerable  member 
ship.  Here  in  America,  the  Norwegian  immigrant 
has  taken  a  prominent  part  in  legislation  looking  to 
ward  the  restriction  of  the  sale  of  intoxicating 
liquors,8  and  the  Prohibition  party  finds  its  strong 
est  support  among  the  Norwegians,  as  it  finds  a 
relatively  large  number  of  its  candidates  for  state 
and  county  offices  from  among  them. 

Crime  conditions  in  Norway  are  similarly  sig 
nificant.  Comparative  statistics  are  difficult  of  ac 
cess,  but  Norway's  proportion  of  serious  offences 
is  very  low.  In  the  whole  period  from  1891-1895 
the  total  number  was  only  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
one.  Norway  has  its  poor  as  every  country  has,  but 
it  has  its  excellent  system  of  taking  care  of  the  poor. 
Thus  every  municipality  has  a  Board  of  Guardians 
(fattigkommission),  which  consists  of  the  parish 
minister,  a  police  officer,  and  several  men  chosen  by 
a  local  board.  Norway  keeps  her  criminals  and 
takes  care  of  her  poor;  she  does  not  send  them  to 
America,  as  has  only  too  often  been  the  case  in  some 
other  countries. 

7  The  Norwegian  Total  Abstinence  Society. 

8  When  the  Sunday  closing  order  was  instituted  in  Minneapolis 
in  December,  1905,  the  Minneapolis  Journal  commented  upon  the  fact 
that  the  Norwegian  citizens  made  no  complaint,  as  it  appears  others 
did. 


NORWAY:     POPULATION,  ETC.  25 

Norway  has  a  highly  developed  school  system 
crowned  by  the  Eoyal  Frederik  University  at 
Christiania.  It  has  compulsory  education,  its 
boards  of  inspection  and  its  great  Department  of 
Public  Instruction.  It  has  its  People's  High  School, 
its  Workingmen's  Colleges,  and  a  system  of  second 
ary  schools,  whose  curricula  are  still  on  a  conserva 
tive  basis.  Its  one  University  ranks  with  the  fore 
most  in  Europe,  and  with  it  are  connected  various 
laboratories  and  scientific  institutions,  and  it  has  a 
library  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  volumes. 
Here  too  are  located  its  Botanical  Gardens,  the  His 
torical  Museum,  the  Astronomical  and  Magnetic  Ob 
servatory,  the  Meteriological  Institute  and  the  Bio 
logical  Marine  Station.9  The  salaries  of  its  teach 
ers  in  Middelskole  Gymnasium,  and  of  instructors 
and  professors  in  the  University,  reckoned  by  the 
purchasing  power  of  money,  is  approximately  thirty 
per  cent  greater  than  that  of  our  middle  western 
universities.  I  shall  also  mention  The  Royal  Nor 
wegian  Scientific  Society  at  Trondhjem,  founded 
1760,  a  similar  society  in  Christiania,  founded  1857, 
the  Bergen  Museum,  founded  1825,  with  its  literary 
and  scientific  collections  illustrative  of  the  life  and 
cultural  history  of  Western  Norway,  The  Norwegian 
National  Museum  in  Christiania,  founded  1894,  sim 
ilar,  but  more  general  in  character,  The  Industrial 
Arts  Museum,10  and  the  various  archives  of  the 
Kingdom. 


9  This  is  located  at  Drobak. 

10  Though  Norway's  participation  in  the  Universal  Exposition  at 


26  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

As  to  the  Norwegian  language  I  shall  merely 
speak  of  its  highly  analytic  character,  in  which 
respect  it  has  for  a  long  time  been  developing  in  the 
same  direction  as  English,  though  of  course,  abso 
lutely  independently.  Being  closely  cognate  with 
English,  a  large  part  of  the  vocabulary  of  the  two 
is  of  the  same  stock.  Further,  its  sound  system  is 
fundamentally  similar.  These  three  considerations, 
especially  perhaps  the  first,  will  make  clear  to  us  the 
reason  why  the  Norwegian  so  readily  learns  to  use 
the  English  language,  and  if  he  learns  it  in  youth, 
even  to  the  point  of  mastery.  This  is  of  the  greatest 
importance,  for  language  is  in  modern  times  the  real 
badge  of  nationality.  A  correct  use  of  the  English 
language  is  the  first  and  chief  stamp  of  American 
nationality,  the  key  without  which  the  foreigner  can 
not  enter  into  the  spirit  of  American  life  and  insti 
tutions. 

Norwegian  literature  I  cannot  either  discuss 
here.  The  great  movements  it  represents  in  recent 
times  are  fairly  well  known;  its  significance  and  its 
broad  influence  are  beginning  to  be  understood.  The 
genius  of  Norwegian  literature  is  morality  and  truth. 
It  expresses  herein  the  high  ethical  sense  of  the  na 
tion,  which  is  pagan-racial,  but  which  is  also  Chris 
tian-Lutheran,  a  church  which  in  its  preeminent 
spirituality  is  the  typical  Teutonic  church. 

St.  Louis  in  1904  as  regards  number  of  exhibits  was  limited,  its  ex 
hibits  were  acknowledged  to  be  of  very  high  grade,  thus  in  its  tapes 
tries,  in  carved  and  inlaid  work,  in  silver  and  enamel  displays  it  re 
ceived  the  highest  awards.  Eeport  by  Consul  Fr.  Waage,  General  Com 
missioner  to  the  St.  Louis  Exposition,  Skandinaven,  June  14th,  1905. 


CHAPTER  II 
Emigration  from  Norway. 

Emigration  from  Norway  has  in  large  part  been 
transatlantic.  Norway  has  lost  by  American  emi 
gration  a  comparatively  larger  portion  of  her  pop 
ulation  than  any  other  country  in  Europe,  with  the 
exception  of  Ireland.  The  great  majority  of  the  em 
igrants  have  gone  to  the  northwestern  states  and 
found  there  their  future  homes.  In  Northern  Illi 
nois,  in  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  in  Northern  and 
Western  Iowa,  in  North  and  South  Dakota,  they 
form  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  population. 
Emigration  to  European  countries  has  been  directed 
chiefly  to  Sweden  and  Denmark,  though  not  few 
have  settled  in  England  and  Germany  and  some  in 
Holland.  Between  1871  and  1875  about  fifteen  hun 
dred  persons  emigrated  from  Norway  to  Australia; 
the  number  that  have  gone  there  since  that  has  been 
much  smaller.  These  have  settled  chiefly  in  South 
Australia,  Victoria  and  New  Zealand.  In  recent 
years  some  have  settled  in  the  Argentine  Eepublic 
in  South  America.  Norwegians  are  found  in  con 
siderable  numbers  in  Western  Canada,  but  the  ma 
jority  of  these  have  emigrated  from  the  Norwegian 
communities  in  the  western  states,  especially  Min 
nesota  and  North  Dakota. 

Norwegian  emigration  to  the  United  States  took 


28  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

systematic  form  with  the  sailing  of  Nor  den  and  Den 
Norske  Klippe  in  1836.  In  1843  it  began  to  assume 
larger  proportions;  in  that  year  sixteen  hundred 
immigrants  from  Norway  settled  in  the  United 
States.  During  1866-1870,  a  period  of  financial 
depression  in  Norway,  there  left,  on  an  average, 
about  fifteen  thousand  a  year.  The  rate  fell  in  the 
seventies,  rose  again  in  the  eighties,  the  figure  for 
1882  being  29,101  persons,  while  it  averaged  over 
eighteen  thousand  per  annum  also  for  the  next  dec 
ade.  In  1898  it  was  not  quite  five  thousand,  then 
again  it  rose  steadily,  reaching  24,461  in  1903. 

The  Norwegian  emigration  has  been  mostly  from 
rural  districts,  day-laborers,  artisans,  farmers,  sea 
men,  but  also  those  representing  other  pursuits. 
Not  a  few  with  professional  or  technical  education 
have  settled  in  America ;  we  find  them  in  the  medical 
profession,11  in  the  ministry,12  in  journalism,  in  the 
faculties  of  our  colleges.  All  the  age-classes  are 
represented  among  immigrants  from  Norway,  but 
by  far  the  largest  number  of  both  men  and  women 
have  come  during  the  ages  of  twenty  to  thirty-five, 
and  particularly  the  first  half  of  these  series  of 
years. 

This  great  emigration  of  the  Norwegian  race 
during  the  nineteenth  century  has,  of  course,  very 
materially  retarded  the  growth  of  the  population 
in  Norway,  especially  in  the  period  from  1865  to 
1890.  The  increase  between  1815  and  1835  was  as 


11  Mostly  in  recent  years. 

12  In  the  early  period  chiefly. 


EMIGRATION  FROM  NORWAY  29 

high  as  1.34  per  cent  annually.  From  1835  to  1865 
it  was  1.18  per  cent,  but  during  1865-1890  it  fell  to 
0.65  per  cent.  Since  1890  the  increase  has  been  con- 
considerable  again.  But  during  1866-1903  the  total 
emigration  from  Norway  to  the  United  States  alone 
aggregated  five  hundred  and  twenty-four  thousand. 
To  this  number  should  be  added  the  children  of  these 
if  we  are  to  have  a  proper  basis  of  estimation  for  the 
increase  of  the  race  in  the  last  half  century.  This 
increase  thus  has  been  1.40  per  cent  annually,  that 
is,  the  race  has  doubled  itself  in  fifty  years.  We 
may  compare  with  France,  where  the  increase  has 
been  0.23  per  cent,  Russia,13  where  it  has  been  1.35, 
in  Servia,  where  it  has  been  2.00  per  cent,  this  be 
ing  the  highest  in  Europe,  The  increase  in  Sweden 
and  Denmark  is  about  the  same  as  in  Norway- 
reckoning  the  racial  increase. 

It  will  be  of  interest  here  to  consider  briefly  the 
immigration  from  the  Scandinavian  countries  as  a 
whole. 

During  the  years  1820-1830  not  more  than  283 
emigrated  from  the  Scandinavian  countries  to  the 
United  States.  In  the  following  decade  the  number 
only  slightly  exceeded  two  thousand.  Since  1850 
our  statistics  regarding  the  foreign  born  population 
are  more  complete.  In  that  year  we  find  there  were 
a  little  over  eighteen  thousand  persons  in  the  coun 
try  of  Scandinavian  birth.  In  1880  this  number  had 

13  The  figures  here  are  for  the  period  closing  with  1890  before 
which  year  Eussia  had  furnished  very  few  emigrants  to  the  United 
States. 


30  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

reached  440,262 ;  while  the  unprecedented  exodus  of 
1882  and  the  following  years  had  by  1890  brought 
the  number  up  to  933,249.  Thus  the  immigrant  pop 
ulation  from  these  countries,  which  in  1850  was  less 
than  one  per  cent,  had  in  1890  reached  ten  per  cent 
of  the  whole  foreign  element.  The  following  table 
will  show  the  proportion  contributed  by  the  coun 
tries  designated  for  each  decade  since  1850 : 

TABLE  I 

1850  1860  1870  1880  1890  1900 

, PER    CENT — , 

Ireland     ....     42.8  38.9  33.3  27.8  20.2  15.6 

Germany.     ...     26  30.8  30.4  29.4  30.1  25.8 

England  ....     12.4  10.5  10  9.9  9.8  8.1 

Canada     ....      6.6  6  8.9  10.7  10.6  11.4 

Scotland  and  Wales    4.4  3.7  3.8  3.8  3.7  3.2 

Scandinavia      .     .         .9  1.7  4.3  6.6  10.1  10.3 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  among  European  coun 
tries  Scandinavia,  considered  as  one,  stands  third 
in  the  number  of  persons  contributed  to  the  Amer 
ican  foreign-born  population,  exceeding  that  of  Scot 
land  and  Wales  in  1870  and  that  of  England  in 
1890.  Both  the  Irish  and  the  German  immigration 
reached  considerable  numbers  at  least  fifteen  years 
before  that  from  the  North,  Ireland  having  contrib 
uted  nearly  forty-three  per  cent  of  the  total  in  1850, 
and  Germany  twenty-six.  By  1900  the  Irish  quota 
had  fallen  to  fifteen  per  cent,  while  the  German 
is  nearly  twenty-six  and  that  from  Scandinavia  ten 
per  cent.  In  1870  our  Scandinavian-born  immigrant 
population  was  twice  as  large  as  the  French  and 


EMIGRATION  FROM  NORWAY  31 

equalled  the  total  from  Holland,  Switzerland,  Aus 
tria,  Bohemia,  Italy,  Hungary,  Poland  and  Russia.14 

The  Norwegians  are  the  pioneers  in  the  emigra 
tion  movement  from  the  North  in  the  nineteenth 
century ;  the  Danes  were  the  last  to  come  in  consider 
able  numbers.  Statistics,  however,  show  that  one 
hundred  eighty-nine  Danes  had  emigrated  to  this 
country  before  1830,  while  there  were  only  ninety- 
four  from  Norway  and  Sweden.  The  Norwegian 
foreign-born  population  had  in  1850  reached  12,678 ; 
while  that  from  Sweden  was  3,559;  and  Denmark 
had  furnished  a  little  over  eighteen  hundred.  The 
Danish  immigration  was  not  over  five  thousand  a 
year  until  1880  and  has  never  reached  twelve  thou 
sand.  The  Swedish  immigration  received  a  new 
impulse  in  1852;  it  was  five  thousand  in  1868;  it 
reached  its  climax  of  64,607  in  1882.  According  to 
Norwegian  statistics  the  emigration  from  Norway 
to  the  United  States  was  six  thousand  and  fifty  in 
1853,  but  according  to  our  census  reports  did  not 
reach  five  thousand  before  1866;  the  highest  figure, 
29,101,  was  reached  in  1882  (according  to  our  cen 
sus).  1S 

The  total  emigration  from  the  Scandinavian 
countries  to  America  between  1820  and  1903  was 
1,617,111.  This  remarkable  figure  becomes  doubly 
remarkable  when  we  stop  to  consider  that  the  popu 
lation  of  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden  is  only 

14  The  four  last  named  countries  have,  as  we  know,  in  the  last 
decade  entered  very  extensively  into  the  emigration  movement. 

15  Or  28,000  according  to  Norwegian  statistics. 


32  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

two  and  one-half  per  cent  of  the  total  population  of 
Europe;  yet  they  have  contributed  nearly  ten  per 
cent  of  our  immigrant  population.  There  are  in 
this  country  nearly  one-third  as  many  Scandinavians 
(counting  those  of  foreign  birth  and  foreign  parent 
age  both)  as  in  the  Scandinavian  countries ;  for  the 
German  element  the  ratio  is  one  to  thirteen. 

At  this  point  I  may  refer  the  reader  to  the  table 
in  Appendix  I  of  this  volume,  showing  the  growth 
and  distribution  of  the  Scandinavian  factor,  espe 
cially  in  the  northwestern  states,  since  1850.  Table 
I  shows  Wisconsin"  as  having  almost  as  large  a 
Scandinavian  population  in  1850  as  all  the  rest  of 
the  country.  Wisconsin  was  the  destination  of  the 
Norwegian  immigrant  from  the  time  emigration  be 
gan  to  assume  larger  proportions,  and  it  held  the 
lead  for  twenty-five  years.  Iowa  and  Southern 
Minnesota  began  entering  into  competition  prom 
inently  since  1852  and  1855  respectively.  The 
growth  of  Swedish  immigration  in  the  fifties  and 
sixties  gave  the  lead  to  Minnesota  by  1870,  Illi 
nois  taking  second  place  in  1890.  Eeturning  now 
to  the  Norwegian  immigration  specifically,  it  may  be 
observed  that  it  was  directed  to  the  Northwest  down 
to  recent  years,  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  the  rest 
of  the  country.  The  reader  may  now  be  referred  to 
Table  II  in  the  Appendix,  which  shows  the  growth 
of  the  Norwegian  population  in  each  state  since 
1850. 

This  table  tells  its  own  story.  In  New  England 
the  Norwegian  factor  is  unimportant.  There  has 


EMIGRATION  FROM  NORWAY  33 

been  a  high  ratio  of  growth  in  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  since  1880,  but  the  total  number  is  not  large. 
In  the  rest  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  states,  as  in 
the  gulf  states,  the  Norwegian  population  has  re 
mained  almost  stationary  at  a  very  low  figure. 
Such  is  also  the  case  with  the  inland  states  of  the 
South,  as  in  the  Southwest.  The  effort  to  direct 
Norwegian  immigration  to  Texas,  which  goes  back 
to  the  forties,  has  been  productive  of  only  meagre 
results.  Even  Kansas  is  too  far  south  for  the  Nor 
wegian.  In  the  extreme  West,  however,  consider 
able  numbers  of  Norwegians  have  established  homes 
since  about  1882,  particularly  in  California,  Oregon 
and  Washington,  since  1895  also  in  Montana,  and  in 
recent  years  even  in  the  extreme  North,  in  Alaska. 

What  were  the  influences  that  directed  the  Nor 
wegian  immigrants  so  largely  to  the  Northwest  in 
the  early  period  and  down  to  1890? 

The  great  majority  came  for  the  sake  of  better 
ing  their  material  condition.  They  came  here  to 
found  a  home  and  to  make  a  living.  Moreover,  as 
I  have  observed  above,  immigrants  in  their  new  home 
generally  enter  the  same  pursuits  and  engage  in  the 
same  occupations  in  which  they  were  engaged  in  their 
native  country. 

Three-fourths  of  the  population  of  Norway  live 
in  the  rural  districts  and  are  mostly  engaged  in 
some  form  of  farming.  16  Thus  seventy- two  per  cent 
of  the  Norwegian  immigrants  are  found  in  the  rural 


16  This  includes  also  fishermen  and  foresters. 


34  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

districts  and  in  towns  with  less  than  twenty-five 
thousand  population.  The  fact  that  the  influx  of 
the  immigrants  from  Norway  coincided  with  the 
opening  up  of  the  middle  western  states  resulted  in 
the  settlement  of  those  states  by  Norwegian  immi 
grants.  Land  could  be  had  for  almost  nothing  in 
the  West.  Land-seekers  from  New  England,  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania  were  in  those  days  flocking 
to  the  West. 17  About  ninety  per  cent  of  the  Nor 
wegian  immigrants  at  that  time  were  land-seekers. 
As  a  rule  long  before  he  emigrated  the  Norseman 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  settle  in  Wisconsin,  Illinois, 
Iowa,  or  Minnesota. 


17  Outside  of  Chicago,  Illinois  had  in  1840  a  population  of 
142,210;  Wisconsin  was  organized  as  a  Territory  in  1836,  its  popu 
lation  in  1840  was  30,945;  Iowa  had  a  population  of  only  192,212  in 
1850;  and  Minnesota,  organized  at  a  Territory  in  1849,  had  in  1850, 
1,056  inhabitants.  To  the  square  mile  the  population  of  each  was  in 
1850:  Illinois,  15.37;  Wisconsin,  5.66;  Iowa,  3.77;  Minnesota,  .04. 


CHAPTEK  III 

The  Earliest  Immigrants  from  Norway,  1620  to  1825. 

Our  data  regarding  Norwegian  emigration  to 
America  prior  to  1825  are  very  fragmentary,  but  it 
it  is  possible  to  trace  that  emigration  as  far  back  as 
1624.18  In  that  year  a  small  colony  of  Norwegians 
was  established  in  New  Jersey  on  the  site  of  the 
present  city  of  Bergen.19  While  it  is  not  known  that 
the  names  of  any  of  these  first  colonists  have  come 
down  to  us,  we  do  have  the  name  of  one  Norwegian, 
who  visited  the  American  coast  on  a  voyage  of  ex 
ploration  in  the  year  1619,  that  is,  the  year  before 
the  landing  of  the  Mayflower.  In  the  early  part  of 
1619  King  Christian  IV  of  Denmark  fitted  out  two 
ships  for  the  purpose  of  finding  a  northwest  passage 
to  Asia.  The  names  of  the  ships  were  Eenhjornin- 
gen  and  Lampreren,  and  the  commander  was  a  Nor 
wegian,  Jens  Munk,  who  was  born  at  Barby,  Nor 
way,  in  1579.  With  sixty-six  men  Jens  Munk  sailed 
from  Copenhagen,  May  ninth,  1619.  During  the 
autumn  of  that  year  and  the  early  part  of  the  follow 
ing  year  he  explored  Hudson  Bay  and  took  posses 
sion  of  the  surrounding  country  in  the  name  of  King 

18  The  Vinland  voyages  in  the   llth-14th  centuries  do  not  come 
within  the  scope  of  our  discussion. 

19  It  seems  that  this  city  was  so  named  by  the  colonists  after  the 
city  of  Bergen,  Norway. 


36  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Christian,  calling  it  Nova  Dania.  The  expedition 
was,  however,  a  failure,  and  all  but  three  of  the 
party  perished  from  disease  and  exposure  to  cold  in 
the  winter  of  1620.  The  three  survivors,  among 
whom  was  the  commander,  Jens  Munk,  returned  to 
Norway  in  September,  1620.20 

In  the  early  days  of  the  New  Netherlands  col 
ony,  Norwegians  sometimes  came  across  in  Dutch 
ships  and  settled  among  the  Dutch.  The  names  of 
at  least  two  such  have  been  preserved  in  the  Dutch 
colonial  records.  They  are  Hans  Hansen  and  Claes 
Carstensen  (possibly  originally  Klaus  Kristenson). 
The  former  emigrated  in  a  Dutch  ship  in  1633  and 
joined  the  Dutch  colony  in  New  Amsterdam.  His 
name  appears  in  the  colonial  records  variously  as 
Hans  Noorman,  Hans  Hansen  de  Noorman,  Hans 
Bergen,  Hans  Hansen  von  Bergen,  and  Hans  Han 
sen  von  Bergen  in  Norwegen.  Hans  Bergen  be 
came  the  ancestor  of  a  large  American  family  by 
that  name.21  Claes  Carstensen 's  name  appears  va 
riously  as  Claes  Noorman,  Claes  Carstensen  Noor 
man  and  Claes  Van  Sant,  the  latter  being  the  Nor 
wegian  name  Sande  in  Jarlsberg,  where  Claes  Car- 
stenson  was  born,  1607.  He  came  to  America  about 
1640  and  settled  a  few  years  later  on  fifty-eight 
acres  of  land  on  the  site  of  the  present  Williams- 
burg.  The  ministerial  records  of  the  old  Dutch  Ke- 
formed  Church  in  New  York  state  that  Claes  Car 
stensen  was  married  April  15, 1646,  to  Helletje  Hen- 

20  Anderson's  First  Chapter  of  Norwegian  Immigration,  p.  21. 

21  See  The  Bergen  Family,  by  Teunis  Bergen. 


EARLIEST  IMMIGRANTS  37 

dricks.  The  latter  was,  it  seems,  a  sister  of  An- 
necken  Hendricks,  who  was  there  married  on  Feb 
ruary  first,  1650,  to  Jan  Arentzen  van  der  Bilt,  the 
colonial  ancestor  of  Commodore  Vanderbilt.  An- 
necken  Hendricks  is  further  designated  as  being 
from  Bergen,  Norway,  the  names  "Helletje"  and 
"Annecken"  being  Dutch  diminutive  forms  of  the 
Norwegian  Helen  and  Anne.  Claes  Carstensen  died 
November  sixth,  1679. 

About  the  year  1700  there  were  a  number  of 
families  of  Norwegian  and  Danish  descent  living  in 
New  York.  In  1704  a  stone  church  was  erected  by 
them  on  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Rector  Streets. 
The  property  was  later  sold  to  Trinity  Church,  the 
present  churchyard  occupying  the  site  of  the  orig 
inal  church.22  Prof.  R.  B.  Anderson,  speaking  of 
these  people,  says,  that  they  were  probably  mostly 
Norwegians  and  not  Danes,  for  those  of  their  de 
scendants  with  whom  he  has  spoken  have  all  claimed 
Norwegian  descent.  The  pastor  who  ministered  to 
the  spiritual  wants  of  this  first  Scandinavian  Lu 
theran  congregation  in  America  was  a  Dane  by  the 
name  of  Rasmus  Jensen  Aarhus.  He  died  on  the 
southwest  coast  of  Hudson  Bay,  February  twentieth, 
1720. 

In  1740  Norwegian  Moravians  took  part  in  the 
founding  of  a  Moravian  colony  at  Bethlehem,  Penn 
sylvania,  and  in  1747  of  one  at  Bethabara,  North 
Carolina.  At  Bethlehem  these  Norwegian  (and 

22  Our  authority  here  is  Rev.  Rasmus  Anderson,  who  has  given 
this  subject  much  study. 


38  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Swedish  and  Danish)  Moravians  came  in  contact 
with  their  kinsmen,  the  Swedish  Lutherans  of  Dela 
ware  and  adjoining  parts  of  New  Jersey  and  Penn 
sylvania.  The  Swedes  on  the  Delaware  had  lost 
their  independence  in  1656.  New  Sweden  as  a  polit 
ical  state  existed  but  sixteen  years.  Ecclesiatically. 
however,  the  Lutherans  of  New  Sweden  remained 
subject  to  the  state  church  at  home  for  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  more,  and  linguistically  the  colony 
was  Swedish  nearly  as  long.  In  the  church  records 
of  this  colony  there  appear  not  a  few  Norwegian 
names,  particularly  in  the  later  period.  We  know 
that  Norwegians  in  considerable  numbers  came  to 
America  and  joined  the  Delaware  Swedes  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  Gothenburg,  which  lies  not  far 
distant  from  the  province  of  Smaalenene,  was  at 
the  time,  and  has  continued  to  be,  the  regular  Swed 
ish  sailing  port  for  America-bound  ships. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the 
Bethabara  Colony  was  Dr.  John  M.  Calberlane,  born 
1722  in  Trondhjem,  Norway.  He  came  to  New  York 
in  1753,  having  sailed  from  London  on  the  ship 
Irene,  June  thirteenth,  arriving  on  September  ninth. 
Dr.  Calberlane 's  name  occupies  a  foremost  place 
among  the  old  colonial  physicians ;  he  was  a  man  of 
much  ability,  noble  in  character  and  untiring  in  his 
devotion  to  the  welfare  of  his  fellow  colonists.  On 
July  twenty- eighth,  1759,  he  himself  succumbed  to 
a  contagious  fever  that  visited  the  settlement.  In 
a  sermon  delivered  on  Easter  Sunday,  1760,  Bishop 


EARLIEST  IMMIGRANTS  39 

Spangenberg  gave  public  recognition  of  Calberlane's 
service  in  his  short  life  of  six  years  in  the  colony.23 
Other  Norwegians  among  these  Moravian  col 
onists  were :  Susanna  Stokkeberg,  from  Sondmore, 
Norway,  born  1715,  who  came  to  America  in  1744  with 
her  husband,  Abraham  Reinke,  a  Swede,  to  whom  she 
had  been  married  that  year  in  Stockholm.  Reinke  is 
reputed  to  have  been  an  able  preacher  of  the  gospel, 
the  two  laboring  together  in  the  congregations  of 
Bethlehem,  Nazareth,  Philadelphia,  and  Lancaster. 
She  died  in  1758,  he  in  1760,  leaving  a  son,  Abraham 
Reinke.  Peter  Peterson,  who  was  born  in  Norway 
in  1728,  and  had  joined  the  church  in  London,  came 
to  America  as  a  sailor  on  the  ship  Irene  in  1749. 
He  died  in  1750.  Jens  Wittenberg,  a  tanner  from 
Christiania,  born  1719,  came  on  the  Irene  in  1754; 
he  died  in  the  colony,  1788.  Martha  Mans  (probably 
Monsdatter),  from  Bergen,  born  1716,  came  on  the 
Irene  in  1749.  She  lived  in  Bethabara  as  a  teacher 
and  religious  adviser  until  1773.  At  the  same  time, 
also,  came  Enert  Enerson,  a  carpenter,  while  in  1759 
came  Catherine  Kalberlahn,  and  in  1762  Christian 
Christensen,  a  shoemaker,  from  Christiana.  The 
latter  was  born  in  1718;  he  had  lived  some  years 
in  Holland  before  coming  to  America.  The  year 
of  his  death  is  1777.  Erik  Ingebretsen  came 
over  June  twenty-second,  1750,  via  Dover,  hav- 

23  The  name  John  M.  Calberlane,  originally  Hans  Martin  Kalber 
lahn,  is  an  interesting  instance  of  an  early  Americanization  of  a  Nor 
wegian  name. 


40  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

ing  been  on  the  ocean  six  weeks,  a  remarkably  short 
passage  for  that  time.24 

The  names  of  several  Norwegians  are  recorded 
who  served  in  the  War  of  the  Eevolution.  Thus 
under  John  Paul  Jones  served  Thomas  Johnson, 
who  was  born  1758,  the  son  of  a  pilot  in  Mandal, 
Norway.  The  New  England  Historical  Register, 
Volume  XXVIII,  pages  18-21,  gives  an  account  of 
Johnson's  career  in  the  American  marine,  from 
which  we  learn  that  he  was  among  those  who  served 
on  board  the  Bon  Homme  Richard  in  her  cruise  in 
1779,  having  been  transferred  by  Paul  Jones  from 
the  Ranger.  Later  he  went  with  Paul  Jones  to  the 
Serapis  and  the  Alliance  and  finally  to  the  Ariel. 
With  the  last  ship  he  arrived  in  Philadelphia  Feb 
ruary  eighteenth,  1781.  For  a  fuller  account  of 
Johnson's  career  the  interested  reader  is  referred  to 
the  source  of  which  mention  has  already  been  made. 

Thomas  Johnson  lived  to  the  good  old  age  of 
ninety-three,  dying  July  twelfth,  1807,  in  the  United 
States  Naval  Hospital  in  Philadelphia.  He  had 
been  a  pensionist  here  for  a  number  of  years,  being 
known  generally  by  the  nickname  "Paul  Jones. "  A 
biography  of  Johnson  written  by  John  Henry  Sher- 
burne  was  published  at  Washington  in  1825,  to  which 
I  have,  however,  not  had  access.  Another  Norwe 
gian  by  the  name  of  Lewis  Brown  (Lars  Bruun) 
also  served  under  John  Paul  Jones.  I  lack  further 
particulars,  however,  regarding  Brown,  except  that 

24  For  some  of  these  facts  I  am  indebted  to  Juul  Dieserud, 
Washington,  D.  C. 


EAKLIEST  IMMIGRANTS  41 

he  is  spoken  of  in  Sherburne's  book,  Life  of  Thomas 
Johnson. 

A  Norwegian  sailor,  Captain  Iverson,  settled 
in  Georgia  some  time  about  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  United  States  Senator  Iverson 
from  Georgia  was  a  grandson  of  this  Norwegian 
sailor  pioneer  in  Georgia. 25  About  1805  another  sail 
or,  Torgus  Torkelson  Gromstu,  from  Gjerpen,  near 
Skien,  Norway,  settled  in  New  York. 

In  my  article  on  "The  Danish  Contingent  in  the 
Population  of  Early  Iowa/7  Iowa  Journal  of  His 
tory  and  Politics,  1906,  I  spoke  of  a  society,  styling 
itself  Scandinavia,  as  having  been  organized  in  New 
York  City  on  June  twenty-seventh,  1844.  I  there 
designated  this  as  the  earliest  organization  of  the 
kind  in  this  country.  This  I  find  now  to  be  incor 
rect.  As  early  as  1769  the  Societas  Scandinaviensis 
was  founded  in  Philadelphia.  The  membership  of 
this  society  was  made  up  of  Swedes,  Norwegians 
and  Danes,  the  first  of  these  presumably  being  in 
the  majority.  The  first  president  of  the  society  was 
Abraham  Markoe  (Marko),  a  Norwegian.  One  of 
the  memorable  events  in  the  history  of  the  society 
was  a  farewell  reception  given  in  "City  Tavern "  on 
December  eleventh,  1782,  in  honor  of  Baron  Axel 
Ferson,  hero  of  the  Battle  of  Yorktown.  The  com 
mittee  of  seven  appointed  to  present  the  invitation 

25  P.  S.  Vig.  in  his  book  De  Danske  i  Amerika  says  Iverson  was 
of  Danish  descent  but  gives  no  reasons  for  the  claim.  As  the  name 
* '  Tver ' '  is  peculiarly  Norwegian  I  must  therefore  adhere  to  my  view 
as  formerly  expressed  (Sc.  Immig.  to  Iowa). 


42  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

and  also  to  wait  upon  General  George  Washington 
at  Hasbrouch  House,  Newtmrg,  with  a  view  of  se 
curing  his  presence  consisted  of  the  following :  Cap 
tain  Abraham  Markoe,  Sakarias  Paulsen,  Andrea  - 
sen  Taasinge,  Eev.  Andrew  Goeranson,  Jacob  Van 
der  Weer,  John  Stille  and  Andrew  Keen.  Says  the 
chronicler  of  the  event: 

"This  event  was  one  of  the  most  glorious  in  the  So 
ciety's  history.  The  reception  was  held  at  the  City  Tav 
ern,  Wednesday  evening,  December  eleventh,  1782.  The 
President  of  the  St.  Andrew's  Society,  Rev.  Wm.  Smith, 
D.  D.,  lauded  the  bravery  of  the  Baron  and  his  men  at  the 
Battle  of  Yorktown,  whereupon  General  Washington  in 
thanking  the  members  of  the  Society  for  their  forethought 
in  tendering  the  reception  to  the  noble  officer  (he  subse 
quently  decorated  Person  with  the  "Order  of  the  Cincin 
nati"  for  valor  displayed)  expressed  his  pleasure  at  being 
present  among  the  people  of  his  forefathers'  blood,  as  he 
claimed  descent  from  the  family  of  Wass,  who  emigrated 
from  Denmark  in  the  year  A.  D.  970,  and  settled  in  the 
County  Durham,  England,  where  they  built  a  small  town, 
calling  it  Wass-in-ga-tun  (town  of  Wass.)"26 

In  January,  1783,  General  George  Washington 
was  elected  honorary  member  of  the  Society  on 
account  of  his  Norse  ancestry.  On  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  August,  that  year,  a  banquet  was  given  at 
the  City  Tavern  under  the  auspices  of  the  Society, 

26  Cited  from  a  prospectus  of  the  Society  issued  in  December, 
1901,  and  kindly  sent  me  by  C.  M.  Machold  of  Philadelphia. 

Variant  forms  of  the  name  Wassingatun  are,  as  given  in  the 
prospectus,  Wessington,  Whessingtone,  Wasengtone,  Wassington  and 
finally  Washington.  The  prospectus  itself  cites  from  Machold 's  His 
tory  of  ihe  Scandinavians  in  Pennsylvania. 


EARLIEST  IMMIGRANTS  43 

in  celebration  of  the  recognition  by  Sweden,  Norway, 
and  Denmark  of  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  of  America.  John  Stille  was  for  many  years 
secretary  of  the  Society;  after  his  death  in  1802  all 
traces  of  it  seem  to  have  vanished.  Just  when  the 
Societies  Scandinaviensis  ceased  to  exist,  the  His 
torian  cannot  say.  On  February  twentieth,  1868, 
eighteen  gentlemen,  all  of  Scandinavian  birth  and 
residents  of  Philadelphia,  met  together  for  the  pur 
pose  of  forming  a  society,  and  The  Scandinavian 
Society  of  Philadelphia  was  founded,  an  organiza 
tion  which  regards  itself  a  continuation  of  the  orig 
inal  society.  The  chief  object  of  the  Society  is 
benevolence. 

The  name  of  at  least  one  Norwegian  who  fell  in 
the  early  wars  against  the  Indians  has  come  down  to 
us.  Frank  Peterson,  who  had  enlisted  on  the  fif 
teenth  of  June,  1808,  was  among  those  who  fell  at 
Fort  Dearborn  in  1812,  among  the  "first  martyrs  of 
the  West, "  in  an  attack  by  five  hundred  Pottawatta- 
mie  Indians.  In  this  battle  two-thirds  of  the  whites 
were  killed  and  the  rest  taken  prisoners. 

At  a  later  date  some  other  names  also  appear, 
but  those  given  are  the  only  ones  of  which  we  have 
any  record.  I  shall  mention  here  that  of  Ole  Hau- 
gen,  who  probably  was  the  first  Norwegian  to  settle 
in  the  State  of  Massachusetts.  Hangen  was  from 
Bergen,  Norway,  and  located  in  Middlesex  County, 
that  state,  in  1815.  Alexander  Paaske,  himself  an 
early  immigrant  from  Bergen,  living  in  Lowell, 


44  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Mass.,  and  who  was  present  at  Haugen's  deathbed, 
is  the  source  of  the  above  fact.  Though  going  be 
yond  the  scope  of  our  brief  survey  of  this  earliest 
immigration,  it  may  be  of  interest  here  to  know  that 
as  early  as  1817,  a  girl  from  Voss,  Norway,  Anna 
Vetlahuso,  emigrated  to  America  with  her  husband, 
a  German  sailor  in  Bergen,  and  settled  somewhere  in 
South  America.  The  next  recorded  names  in  the 
order  of  emigration  to  the  United  States  are  Kleng 
Peerson  and  Knud  Olson  Eide,  who  in  1821  became 
the  advance  guard  of  a  group  of  fifty-two  emigrants 
that  in  1825  founded  the  first  Norwegian  settlement 
in  this  country.  It  is  of  this  sailing  and  the  leaders 
of  this  group  that  I  now  wish  to  speak;  of  Peerson 
I  shall  give  a  brief  account  below. 


CHAPTER  IV 

The  Sloopers  of  1825.     The  First  Norwegian  Settle 
ment  in  America.     Kleng  Peerson 

The  story  of  the  Sloopers  from  Stavanger,  Nor 
way,  who  came  to  America  in  1825,  has  often  been 
told;  I  shall  therefore  be  very  brief  in  my  account 
of  that  expedition.  Under  causes  of  emigration  I 
shall  have  occasion  below  to  note  briefly  some  of  the 
circumstances  that  seem  to  have  led  to  their  depart 
ure  for  America  in  that  year.  The  director  of  the 
expedition  and  the  chief  owner  of  the  boat  was  Lars 
Larson  i  Jeilane ;  the  captain  was  Lars  Olsen.  The 
company  consisted  of  fifty-two  persons,  all  but  one 
being  natives  of  Stavanger  and  vicinity ;  the  one  ex 
ception  was  the  mate,  Nels  Erikson,  who  came  from 
Bergen.  Eelative  to  the  leading  spirit  in  this  first 
group  of  emigrants,  Lars  Larson,  I  shall  say  here :  He 
was  born  near  Stavanger,  September  twenty-fourth, 
1787.  He  became  a  sailor,  was  captured  in  the  Na 
poleonic  wars  and  kept  a  prisoner  in  London  for 
seven  years.  Being  released  in  1814,  he  remained  in 
London,  however,  till  1815,  when  he  and  several 
other  prisoners  returned  to  Norway.  In  London 
they  had  been  converted  to  the  Quaker  faith  by  Mrs. 
Margaret  Allen,  and  upon  returning  to  Stavanger, 
Lars  Larson,  Elias  Tastad,  Thomas  Helle  and  Metta 
Helle  became  the  founders  of  the  first  Quaker  society 


46  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

in  that  city,  a  society  which  is  still  in  existence. 
In  1821  the  Stavanger  Quakers  began  to  form 
plans  for  emigrating  to  America.  It  seems  that 
Kleng  Peerson  and  Knud  Eide,  whom  we  have  men 
tioned  above,  were  deputed  to  go  to  America  for 
the  purpose  of  learning  something  of  the  country 
with  a  view  to  planting  there  a  Quaker  colony. 
Kleng  Peerson  returned  to  Stavanger  in  1824  with 
a  favorable  report  and  many  of  the  members  of  the 
Quaker  colony  began  to  make  preparations  for  emi 
grating  to  the  locality  selected  by  Peerson,  namely, 
Orleans  County,  New  York  State.  A  sloop  of  only 
forty-five  tons  capacity  which  they  called  Restaura- 
tionen,  built  in  Hardanger,  was  purchased  and  loaded 
with  a  cargo  of  iron  and  made  ready  for  the  jour 
ney.  Larson  himself  had  married  in  December, 
1824,  Georgiana  Person,  who  was  born  October  19, 
1803,  on  Fogn,  a  small  island  near  Stavanger.  Be 
sides  him  there  were  five  other  heads  of  families. 
On  the  fourth  of  July,  1825,  they  set  sail  from  Stav 
anger.  The  following  fifty-two  persons  made  up  the 
party:  Lars  Larson  and  wife  Martha  Georgiana; 
Lars  Olson,  who  was  captain  of  the  boat,  Cornelius 
Nelson  Hersdal,  wife  and  four  children;27  Daniel 
Stenson  Eossadal,  wife  and  five  children;28  Thomas 
Madland,  wife  and  three  children,29  Nels  Nelson 


27  Anne  (b.  1814),  Nels  (b.  1816),  Inger  (b.  1819),  and  Martha 
(b.  1823). 

28  Ellen    (b.    1807),   Ove    (b.    1809),   Lars    (b.    1812),   John    (b. 
1821),  Hulda  (b.  1825). 

29  Eachel  (b.  1807),  Julia  (b.  1810),  Senena  (b.  1814). 


FIRST  SETTLEMENT  IN  AMERICA  47 

Hersdal  and  wife  Bertha,  Knud  Anderson  Slogvig, 
Jacob  Anderson  Slogvig,  Gudniund  Haugaas,  Johan 
nes  Stene,  wife  and  two  children,  (Men  Thorson 
(Thompson)  wife  and  three  children,30  Simon  Lima, 
wife  and  three  children,  Henrik  Christopherson  Her- 
vig,  and  wife,  Ole  Johnson,  George  Johnson,  Thor- 
sten  Olson  Bjaaland,  Nels  Thorson,  Ole  Olson 
Hetletvedt,  Sara  Larson  (sister  of  Lars  Larson), 
Halvor  Iverson,  Andrew  Stangeland,  the  mate,  Nels 
Erikson,  and  the  cook,  Eudre  Dahl. 

After  a  perilous  voyage  of  fourteen  weeks  they 
landed  in  New  York,  October  ninth.  An  ac 
count  of  that  voyage,  which  also  it  seems  was  a 
rather  adventurous  one,  was  given  by  the  New  York 
papers  at  the  time ;  it  was  reproduced  in  Norwegian 
translation  in  Billed-Magazin  in  1869,  whence  it  has 
been  copied  in  other  works.  The  arrival  of  this 
first  party  of  Norwegian  immigrants,  and  in  so 
small  a  boat,  created  nothing  less  than  a  sensation 
at  the  time,  as  we  may  infer  from  the  wide  atten 
tion  the  event  received  in  the  eastern  press.  Thus 
the  New  York  Daily  Advertiser  for  October  twelfth, 
1825,  under  the  head  lines,  "A  Novel  Sight, "  gives 
an  account  of  the  boat,  the  destination  of  the  immi 
grants,  the  country  they  came  from,  their  appear 
ance,  etc.  For  this  citation  I  may  refer  the  reader 
to  page  39  of  my  article  on  i  i  The  Coming  of  the  Nor 
wegians  to  Iowa"  in  The  Iowa  Journal  of  History 
and  Politics,  1905,  or  to  R.  B.  Anderson's  First 
Chapter  of  Norwegian  Immigration,  1896,  70-71. 

30  Sara   (b.  1818),  Anna  Maria  (b.  1819),  Caroline   (b.  1825). 


48  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

In  New  York  the  immigrants  met  Mr.  Joseph 
Fellows,  a  Quaker,  from  whom  they  purchased  land 
in  Orleans  County,  New  York.  It  seems  to  have  been 
upon  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Fellows  that  they  were 
induced  to  settle  here,  although  it  is  possible  that 
the  land  had  already  been  selected  for  them  by 
Kleng  Peerson,  who  was  in  New  York  at  the  time. 
The  price  to  be  paid  for  the  land  was  five  dollars  an 
acre,  each  head  of  a  family  and  adult  person  pur 
chasing  forty  acres.  The  immigrants  not  being  able 
to  pay  for  the  land,  Mr.  Fellows  agreed  to  let  them 
redeem  it  in  ten  annual  installments.  For  the  fur 
ther  history  of  the  colony,  with  which  we  are  here 
not  so  much  concerned,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
Knud  Langeland's  Nordmaendene  i  America,  Chica 
go,  1889,  pp.  10-19,  or  to  Anderson's  First  Chapter, 
pp.  77-90. 

We  have  already  mentioned  Kleng  Peerson,  a 
name  familiar  to  every  student  of  Norwegian  pio 
neer  history.  Much  has  been  written  about  this 
pathfinder  in  the  West,  and  romance  and  legend  al 
ready  adorn  his  memory.  It  would  be  interesting 
to  recount  what  we  know  of  his  life  in  America,  but 
as  this  has  been  dealt  with  at  length  By  Professor 
E.  B.  Anderson  in  his  monograph  on  Norwegian  Im 
migration,  which  is  in  large  part  devoted  to  the 
slooper's  history,  I  may  refer  the  interested  reader 
to  this  work.  Symra  (Decorah,  Iowa)  for  1906  also 
contains  a  brief,  somewhat  eulogistic  account  in 
Norwegian  of  Peerson 's  stay  in  New  York  and  his 


FIRST  SETTLEMENT  IN  AMERICA  49 

journey  of  exploration  to  Illinois,  Missouri,  and  Tex 
as.  The  briefest  facts  I  may,  however,  relate  here. 

Kleng  Peerson  was  born  on  the  seventeenth  of 
May,  1782,  on  the  estate  Hesthammer  in  Tysvaer 
Parish,  Province  of  Eyfylke.  In  1820  we  find  him  in 
Stavanger,  where  William  Allen,  an  English  Quaker, 
was  then  organizing  a  Quaker  society.  In  1821 
Kleng  Peerson  and  a  certain  Knud  Olson  Eide  were, 
as  we  have  seen,  commissioned,  it  appears,  by  the 
Quakers  to  go  to  America  and  examine  the  possibil 
ity  of  organizing  a  Norwegian  colony  there.  The 
two  explorers  secured  work  in  New  York  City,  but 
Knud  Eide  fell  ill  and  died  not  long  after,  and  Peer- 
son  went  west  alone  in  quest  of  a  suitable  location 
for  a  colony.  Just  how  far  west  he  may  have  come 
on  this  first  journey  is  not  known.  After  some 
time  he  decided  upon  Orleans  County  on  the  shores 
of  the  Ontario  as  the  best  place  to  plant  his  colony, 
and  in  1824  he  returned  to  Norway.  We  have  noted 
already  the  results  of  Peerson 's  mission.  When 
Lars  Larson 's  party  prepared  to  go  to  America 
Kleng  Peerson  also  left,  but  he  did  not  take  passage 
in  Restaurationen.  It  seems  that  he  embarked  by 
way  of  Gothenburg  and  was  in  New  York  to  receive 
the  sloopers  upon  their  arrival. 

It  would  be  natural  to  suppose  that  Peerson  did 
not  go  alone  from  Stavanger  when  he  returned  to 
America  via  Gothenburg  in  1825.  After  much  in 
quiry  I  have  also  succeeded  in  discovering  the  name 
of  one  man,  who,  with  his  family,  accompanied  Peer- 


50  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

son  that  year.  This  man  was  Bjorn  Bjornson  from 
Stavanger,  a  cousin  of  Kleng  Peerson;  he  brought 
his  wife  and  several  children  with  him,  but  left  two 
girl  twins,  born  in  May  of  that  year,  with  a  relative 
who  then  lived  in  Tjensvold,  near  Stavanger.  Fur 
ther  facts  about  this  family  will  be  given  in  the 
chapter  on  Chicago. 

As  Peerson  seems  to  play  no  role  in  the  found 
ing  of  the  Orleans  County  settlement,  I  shall  leave 
him  here.  There  will  be  occasion  to  speak  briefly  of 
him  again  later  in  connection  with  the  second  Nor 
wegian  settlement.  I  wish  to  add  a  few  words  here 
about  Lars  Larson,  however.  He  and  his  family 
located  in  Kochester,  where  he  became  a  builder  of 
canal  boats,  prospered;  and  kept  in  close  touch 
with  immigrant  Norwegians  during  the  two  decades 
of  his  life  there.  His  home  became  a  kind  of  Mecca 
for  hosts  of  intending  settlers  in  the  New  World. 
Larson  died  by  accident  on  a  canal  boat  in  Novem 
ber,  1845,  but  his  widow  lived  till  October,  1887. 
They  had  eight  children,  of  whom  the  first  one,  Mar 
garet  Allen,  was  born  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  Sep 
tember  second,  1825.  Of  her  and  others  of  Lars 
Larson's  descendants  I  shall  speak  briefly  below. 
We  shall  now  return  to  the  settlers  in  Orleans  Coun 
ty,  New  York. 

The  colony  was  in  many  respects  unfortunate; 
it  cannot  be  said  to  have  prospered  and  has  never 
played  any  important  part  as  a  colony  in  Norwe 
gian-American  history.  But  it  is  important  as  be- 


FIRST  SETTLEMENT  IN  AMERICA  51 

ing  the  first,  and  also  as  being  the  parent  of  a  very 
large  and  progressive  Norwegian  settlement  found 
ed  in  1834-35  in  La  Salle  County,  Illinois,  of  which 
more  below.  And  yet  the  economic  conditions  of 
the  Quaker  immigrants  gradually  became  better  and 
the  future  looked  more  promising.  They  felt  now 
that  America  offered  many  advantages  to  the  able 
and  the  capable,  and  they  began  writing  encourag 
ing  letters  to  relatives  and  friends  in  the  old  coun 
try,  urging  them  to  seek  their  fortune  here.  As  a 
result  there  was,  if  not  a  large,  at  any  rate  a  fairly 
constant  emigration  of  individuals  and  families  from 
Stavanger  and  adjacent  region  during  the  following 
eight  or  nine  years,  although  few  seem  to  have  come 
before  1829.  In  this  year,  e.  g.,  came  Gudmund 
Sandsberg  (b.  1787)  from  Hjelmeland,  in  Ryfylke, 
Norway,  and  his  wife  Marie  and  three  children, 
Bertha,  Anna,  and  Torbjor. 

Passage  was  secured  in  the  beginning  for  the 
most  part  with  American  sailships  carrying  Swedish 
iron  from  Gothenburg.  But  as  this  was  attended 
by  much  uncertainty,  often  necessitating  several 
weeks  of  waiting,  the  intending  emigrants  began  to 
go  to  Hamburg,  where  German  emigration  by  means 
of  regular  going  American  packet  ships  had  already 
begun.  Here,  however,  another  difficulty  met  them. 
The  already  somewhat  heavy  emigration  at  this 
port  made  it  necessary  to  order  passage  several 
weeks  ahead  in  order  to  insure  accommodations, 
and  failing  in  this,  the  emigrant  was  forced  to  wait 


52  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

there  until  the  next  packet  boat  should  sail.  And 
so  it  came  about  that  many  of  the  early  Norwegian 
immigrants  to  America  came  by  way  of  Havre, 
France,  where  passage  was  always  certain,  emigra 
tion  from  this  point  being  as  yet  very  limited. 

Among  those  who  came  via  Gothenburg  was 
Gjert  Hovland,  a  farmer  from  Hardanger,  who  left 
Norway  with  his  family  on  the  twenty-fourth  of 
June,  1831,  sailed  from  Gothenburg  June  thirtieth 
and  arrived  in  New  York  September  eighteenth.  He 
does  not  seem  to  have  gone  directly  to  Kendall,  for 
we  find  him  soon  after  the  owner  of  fifty  acres  of 
forest  land  in  Morris  County,  New  Jersey. 

Gjert  Hovland  seems  to  be  the  first  one  from 
the  province  of  Hardanger  to  emigrate  to  America. 
Other  emigrants  during  these  years  are :  Christian 
Olson,  who  came  in  1829,  settling  in  Kendall;  Knut 
Evenson,  wife  and  daughter  Katherine,  who  emi 
grated  in  1831  in  the  same  ship  by  which  Hovland 
came;  and  Ingebret  Larson  Narvig  from  Tysvaer 
Parish,  Eyfylke,  who  came  in  1831  and  two  years 
later  located  in  Michigan.  It  seems  probable  that 
also  Johan  Nordboe  and  wife  from  Eingebo,  in  Gud- 
brandsdalen,  Norway,  came  to  Orleans  County  in 
1832.  Nordboe  was  the  first  to  emigrate  from  Gud- 
brandsdalen,  a  province  from  which  actual  immigra 
tion  did  not  begin  until  sixteen  years  later. 

Norwegian  immigrants  who  came  during  these 
years  generally  located  in  Orleans  County,  but  rarely 
remained  there  permanently.  The  northwestern 


FIRST  SETTLEMENT  IN  AMERICA  53 

states  were  just  then  beginning  to  be  opened  up  to 
settlers.  At  this  time  migration  from  the  eastern 
states  was  directed  particularly  to  Illinois.  Good 
government  land  could  be  had  here  for  $1.25  an  acre. 
The  very  heavily  wooded  land  that  the  Norwegian 
immigrants  in  Orleans  County  had  purchased  proved 
very  difficult  of  improvement,  and  many  began  to 
think  of  moving  to  a  more  favorable  locality. 

In  1833  Kleng  Peerson,  who  seems  to  have  lived 
in  Kendall  at  this  time,  made  a  journey  to  the  West, 
evidently  for  the  purpose  of  finding  a  suitable  site 
for  a  new  settlement.  He  was  accompanied  by  In 
gebret  Larson  Narvig  as  far  as  Erie,  Monroe  County, 
Michigan,  where  the  latter  remained,  Peerson  con 
tinuing  the  journey  farther  west.  After  several 
months  of  wandering  across  Michigan,  and  down  into 
Ohio  and  Indiana,  he  at  last  arrived  at  Chicago,  then 
a  village  of  about  twenty  huts.  The  marshes  of 
Chicago  did  not  appeal  to  Peerson  and  he  went  to 
Milwaukee,  but  the  reports  he  received  of  the  end 
less  forests  of  Wisconsin  soon  drove  him  back  again 
into  Illinois.  After  several  days'  journey  on  foot 
again  west  of  Chicago  he  at  last  found  a  spot  which 
seemed  to  him  as  if  providentially  designated  as  the 
proper  locality  for  his  western  colony.  The  place 
was  immediately  south  of  the  present  village  of 
Norway  in  La  Salle  County.  His  choice  made,  Peer- 
son  returned  to  Orleans  County,  having  covered  over 
2,000  miles  on  foot  since  he  left. 

Peerson 's   selection  was   universally   approved 


54  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

and  a  considerable  number  of  the  Kendall  settlers 
decided  to  move  west.  Among  those  of  the  sloop- 
ers  who  remained  in  New  York  I  shall  here  name : 
Ole  Johnson,  Henrik  C.  Hervig  and  Andrew  Stange- 
land,  who,  however,  some  years  later  bought  a  tract 
of  land  in  Noble  County,  Indiana;  Lars  Olson  lo 
cated  in  New  York  City,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  Lars 
Larson  settled  in  Rochester ;  Nels  Erikson  went  back 
to  Norway,  while  Oien  Thompson  and  Thomas  Mad- 
land  died  in  Kendall  in  1826,  and  Cornelius  Hers- 
dal  died  there  in  1833. 


CHAPTEE  V 

The  Founding  of  the  Fox  River  Settlement.     Per 
sonal  Notes  on  Some  of  the  Founders. 

In  the  spring  of  1834  Jacob  Anderson  Slogvig, 
Knud  Anderson  Slogvig,  Gudmund  Haugaas,  Thor- 
sten  Olson  Bjaaland,  Nels  Thompson, 31  Andrew 
(Endre)  Dahl,  and  Kleng  Peerson  left  for  La  Salle 
County;  they  became,  therefore,  as  far  as  we  know, 
the  first  Norwegian  settlers  in  Illinois,  and  indeed  in 
the  Northwest,  barring  Ingebret  Narvig,  who  had  lo 
cated  in  Michigan  the  year  before.  These  men  se 
lected  their  land  and  perfected  their  purchase  as 
soon  as  it  came  into  market  the  following  spring.  The 
first  two  to  buy  land  were  Jacob  Slogvig  and  Gud- 
mund  Haugaas,  whose  purchase  is  recorded  under 
June  fifteenth,  1835,  the  former  of  eighty  acres,  the 
latter  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  both  in  that  part 
of  what  was  then  called  Mission  Township,  but  later 
came  to  be  Eutland.  On  June  seventeenth,  Kleng 
Peer  son's  purchase  of  eighty  acres  is  recorded,  as 
also  that  of  his  sister,  Carrie  Nelson,  widow  of  Cor 
nelius  Nelson  Hersdal,  namely,  eighty  acres  of  land 

31  Nels  Thompson  had  married  Bertha  Caroline,  the  widow  of 
Oien  Thompson  in  1827.  She  had  three  daughters  by  her  first  hus 
band:  Sara,  born  1818;  Anna,  born  1819;  and  Caroline,  born  1825 
(died  in  Eochester,  N.  Y.,  1826).  Nels  Thompson  and  wife  had  two 
children :  Serena,  born  1828 ;  Abraham,  born  1830 ;  and  Caroline,  born 
in  1833. 


56  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

bought  for  her  by  Peerson.  For  this  date  are  also 
recorded  the  purchases  of  Thorsten  Olson  Bjaaland, 
eighty  acres,  Nels  Thompson,  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  in  what  later  became  Miller  Township. 

In  1835  Daniel  Kossadal  and  family,  Nels  Nel 
son  Hersdal,  George  Johnson,  and  Carrie  Nelson 
Hersdal  with  family  of  seven  children  moved  to  La 
Salle  County.  Nels  Hersdal  secured  six  hundred 
and  forty  acres  in  exchange  for  one  hundred  acres 
he  owned  in  Orleans  County,  New  York.  The  sloop- 
er  Thomas  Madland,  as  we  have  seen,  died  in  1826 ; 
his  widow  and  family  of  seven  also  moved  to  Illi 
nois  in  1831.  Gjert  Hovland  came  in  1835,  and  on 
June  seventeenth  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land  in  Miller  Township.  Nels  Hersdal  pur 
chased  on  September  fifth  Thorsten  Bjaaland's 
eighty  acres  in  the  same  township;  the  latter,  how 
ever,  bought  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres  again  on  Jan 
uary  sixteenth,  1836,  in  the  same  locality.  The 
record  of  these  purchases  was  copied  by  E.  B.  An 
derson  and  printed  in  his  book,  First  Chapter,  etc., 
cited  above  and  also  in  Strand's  History  of  the  Nor 
wegians  of  Illinois,  page  75. 

Knud  Slogvig,  who,  as  we  see,  came  in  1834,  did 
not  buy  land  but  somewhat  later  returned  east  and 
in  1835  went  back  to  Norway.  There  he  married  a 
sister  of  the  slooper,  Ole  Olson  Hetletvedt  and,  as  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  note  under  causes  of  emigra 
tion,  became  largely  instrumental  in  bringing  about 
the  emigration  of  1836.  Baldwin's  History  of  La 


FOX  RIVER  SETTLEMENT  57 

Salle  County  also  states,  page  74,  that  Oliver  Ca- 
miteson, 32  Oliver  Knutson, 32  Christian  Olson,  and 
Ole  Olson  Hetletvedt  came  to  the  county  in  1834, 
but  the  date  seems  to  be  uncertain.  With  regard 
to  Christian  Olson  the  fact  seems  rather  to  be 
that  he  came  in  1836  or  possibly  not  till  1837,  while 
also  Hetletvedt  seems  to  be  dated  about  two  years 
too  early  here.  Among  those  who  came  in  1836 
according  to  apparently  reliable  records  are:  Ole 
Olson  Hetletvedt  and  Gudmund  Sandsberg. 

Eelative  to  the  founders  of  the  Fox  River  Set 
tlement,  as  that  of  La  Salle  County  came  to  be  called, 
I  wish  to  add  here  the  following  facts  of  personal 
history:  Gudmund  Haugaas,  one  of  the  two  first 
to  record  the  purchase  of  land,  had  married  Julia, 
the  daughter  of  Thomas  Madland,  in  Orleans  County 
in  1827.  She  died  in  Rutland  Township,  La  Salle 
County,  in  1846 ;  and  he  later  married  Caroline  Her- 
vig,  a  sister  of  Henrik  Hervig  (Harwick).  He  had 
ten  children  by  his  first  wife.  In  Illinois  he  joined 
the  Mormon  Church  and  became  an  elder  in  that 
church,  practicing  medicine  at  the  same  time,  and, 
it  is  said,  with  much  success.  He  died  of  the  chol 
era  on  the  homestead  near  Norway  in  July,  1849 ; 
his  widow,  Caroline,  survived  him  three  years.33 

Jacob    Slogvig   married    Serena,    daughter    of 

32  Or  are  these  two  the  same  person? 

33  Mrs.    E.    W.    Bower    of    Sheridan,    Illinois,    is    a    daughter   of 
Haugaas  and  his  wife  Caroline.     Other   children   of  his  are  Daniel 
Haugaas    in    Henderson,    Iowa,    and    Mrs.    Isabel    Lewis,    Emington, 
Illinois,  and  Thomas  Haugaas. 


58  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Thomas  Madland,  in  March,  1831.  He  became 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Norwegian  settlement  in 
Lee  County,  Iowa,  in  1840  (see  below),  later  went  to 
California,  where  he  died  in  May,  1864.  The  widow 
lived  until  about  1897.  Some  time  before  her  death 
she  had  been  living  at  the  home  of  her  son,  Andrew 
J.  Anderson,  at  San  Diego,  California. 

Mrs.  Carrie  Nelson  had  seven  children,  of  whom 
Anne,  Nels,  Inger,  and  Martha  were  born  in  Norway ; 
Sarah,  Peter,  and  Amelia  were  born  at  Kendall,  New 
York.  Carrie  Nelson  died  in  1848.  The  son,  Nels 
Nelson,  born  1816,  married  Catherine  Iverson  about 
1840;  he  died  in  Sheridan,  Illinois,  in  August, 
1893,  as  the  last  male  member  of  the  sloop  party, 
being  survived  by  his  widow  and  four  of  twelve  chil 
dren.  The  daughter  Inger  was  in  1836  married  to 
John  S.  Mitchell,  of  Ottawa,  Illinois;  Martha 
married  Beach  Fallows,  a  settler  of  1835,  and  Sarah 
married  in  1849  Canute  Marsett,  an  immigrant  of 
1837,  who  some  years  later  became  a  Mormon 
bishop  at  Ephraim,  Utah.  Their  oldest  son,  Peter 
Cornelius  Marsett,  born  at  Salt  Lake  City  June  sec 
ond,  1850,  was  the  first  child  born  of  Norwegian  par 
ents  in  Utah. 34  Peter  C.  Nelson,  the  youngest  son  of 
Carrie  Nelson,  born  1830,  later  settled  in  Lamed, 
Kansas,  where  he  died  in  1904.  Sara  Thompson, 
oldest  daughter  of  Oien  Thompson,  and  born  1818, 
married  George  Olmstead  in  1857  in  La  Salle  County ; 
he  died  in  1849,  and  in  1855  she  married  William  W. 

34  For  these  facts  I  am  indebted  to  E.  B.  Anderson,  as  also  for 
other  details  of  the  personal  history  of  the  slooper  's  descendants. 


FOX  RIVER  SETTLEMENT  59 

Richey.  Mrs.  Richey  settled  in  Guthrie  Center, 
Iowa,  in  1882,  where  she  lived  until  recently.  Ben 
son  C.  Olmsted,  Charles  B.  Olmsted  and  Will 
F.  Richey  of  Guthrie  Center,  Iowa,  are  sons  of  Mrs. 
Sara  Richey.  Nels  Thompson  died  in  La  Salle  Coun 
ty,  Illinois,  in  July,  1863.  Daniel  Rossadal  and  his 
wife,  Bertha,  both  died  in  La  Salle  County  in  1854. 
Nels  Nelson  Hersdal  was  born  in  July,  1800,  and  his 
wife,  Bertha,  in  May,  1804 ;  they  were  married  a  few 
months  before  the  departure  of  the  sloop.  He,  "Big 
Nels",  as  he  was  called,  came  to  Illinois  in  1835,  re 
turned  to  New  York  and  did  not  bring  his  family  to 
Illinois  until  1846,  though  he  moved  west  before.  lie 
lived  until  1886,  his  wife  having  died  in  1882.  Peter 
Nelson  and  Ira  Nelson  of  La  Salle  County,  are  their 
sons.  George  Johnson  died  from  cholera  in  1849. 

Andrew  Dahl  went  to  Utah  in  the  fifties, 
being  one  of  the  earliest  pioneers  of  that  state.  A 
son  of  his,  A.  S.  Anderson,  was  a  member  of  the  Utah 
Constitutional  Convention  in  1895.  Ole  Hetle- 
tvedt,  who  located  at  Niagara  Falls,  not  therefore  in 
Orleans  County,  had  three  sons,  Porter  C.,  Soren  L. 
and  James  W.  The  first  of  these,  born  1831,  became 
captain  and  later  colonel  in  Company  F,  36th  Regi 
ment,  Illinois  Volunteers,  in  the  War  of  the  Rebel 
lion,  and  was  Acting  Brigadier  General  when  he  was 
killed  in  the  Battle  of  Franklin  (Term.).  Soreu  Ol 
son  was  killed  in  the  Battle  of  Murfreesboro.  James 
Olson,  who  also  went  to  the  front,  lived  to  return 
to  his  home  after  the  war.  Porter  Olson  lies  buried 


60  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

at  Newark,  Illinois,  where  a  fitting  monument  adorns 
his  grave.  Finally  I  wish  to  add  that  Margaret 
Allen,  the  " sloop  girl"  born  on  the  Atlantic,  daugh 
ter  of  Lars  Larson,  married  John  Atwater  in  Eo- 
chester,  New  York,  in  1857.  They  afterwards  mov 
ed  to  Chicago,  where  he  died  in  the  early  nineties, 
while  Mrs.  Atwater  is,  I  believe,  still  living  at  West 
ern  Springs,  Cook  County.  We  shall  now  return  to 
our  settlement  in  La  Salle  County. 

We  have  given  above  a  brief  account  of  the 
founding  of  the  Fox  Eiver  settlement.  Out  of  that 
nucleus  of  about  thirty  persons,  whom  we  know  to 
have  come  there  in  1834-35  grew  up  one  of  the  larg 
est  and  most  prosperous  of  rural  communities  in 
the  country.  The  settlement  developed  rapidly,  be 
fore  many  years  extending  into  Kendall,  Grundy 
and  DeKalb  counties  and  becoming  a  distributing 
point  in  the  westward  march  of  Norwegian  immigra- 
gration  during  the  following  years.  The  settlement 
in  Orleans  County,  New  York,  ceased  to  grow,  the 
objective  point  of  immigrants  from  Norway  had 
been  changed  and  the  Fox  Eiver  region  received 
large  accessions,  especially  during  the  year  1836. 

Immigration  from  Norway  which  heretofore  had 
been  more  or  less  sporadic,  in  which  individuals  and 
very  small  groups  are  found  to  take  part,  now 
enters  upon  a  new  phase,  begins  in  fact  to  assume 
the  form  of  organized  effort.  The  year  1836  inaug 
urated  this  change,  while  in  1837  there  was  some 
thing  approaching  an  exodus  from  certain  localities 
in  Western  Norway.  The  desire  to  emigrate  to 


FOX  RIVER  SETTLEMENT  61 

America  had  also  now  spread  far  beyond  the  original 
center,  at  Stavanger;  the  source  of  emigration  was 
transferred  to  a  more  northerly  region  and  with 
it,  as  we  have  had  occasion  to  observe  above, 
the  course  of  settlement  in  this  country  is  not  only 
directed  to  a  more  westerly  region,  Illinois,  but  also 
soon  extends  into  the  northern  border  counties  of  Illi 
nois  and  into  southern  and  southeastern  Wisconsin. 
As  this  increased  immigration  is  historically  as 
sociated  with  the  names  of  two  of  those  whom  we 
have  already  met  as  pioneers  in  New  York,  New 
Jersey  and  Illinois,  a  brief  account  of  their  share 
in  the  promotion  of  immigration  from  Norway  will 
be  in  place.  These  two  are  Gjert  Hovland  and 
Knud  Slogvig.  We  have  seen  that  the  former  of 
these  came  to  America  in  1831,  being  probably  the 
first  immigrant  from  Hardanger.  His  name  de 
serves  special  mention  as  an  early  promoter  of  emi 
gration  from  southwestern  Norway,  especially  from 
his  own  province.  He  was  a  man  of  much  enlight 
enment  and  liberalmindedness  to  whom  America's 
free  institutions  made  a  strong  appeal.  He  wrote 
letters  home  to  friends  urging  emigration  and  these 
were  circulated  far  and  wide.  In  one  of  these  letters 
from  Morris  County,  New  Jersey,  1835,  he  writes 
enthusiastically  of  American  laws,  and  he  contrasts 
its  spirit  of  liberty  with  the  oppressions  of  the  class 
aristocracy  in  Norway.  He  advised  all  who  could 
do  so  to  come  to  America,  where  it  was  permitted 
to  settle  wherever  one  chose,  he  says.  Hovland 


62  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

was  well  known  in  several  parishes  in  the  Province 
of  South  Bergenhus,  and  hundreds  of  copies  of  his 
letters  were  circulated  there ;  they  aroused  the  great 
est  interest  among  the  people  and  were  no  small  fac 
tor  in  leading  many  in  that  region  to  emigrate  in 
1836-37. 

Thus  it  may  be  noted  specifically  that  in 
1836  a  lay  preacher  travelling  in  Voss  had  in  his 
possession  one  of  Gjert  Hovland  >s  letters,  which  let 
ter  was  read  by  Nils  Bb'the,  Nils  Bolstad  and  John  H. 
Bjorgo  and  others.  These  three  since  said  that  it 
was  the  reading  of  Hovland 's  letter  which  induced 
them  to  immigrate.35  Gjert  Hovland,  as  we  have 
seen,  came  to  Illinois  in  1835.  His  purchase  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  the  present  Mil 
ler  Township  was  recorded  on  June  seventeenth  of 
that  year,  the  same  date  that  the  purchases  of  Kleng 
Peerson,-  Nels  Thompson  and  Thorsten  Bjaaland 
were  recorded.  Gjert  Hovland  lived  there  till  his 
death  in  1870. 

The  other  name,  that  I  referred  to,  is  that  of 
Knud  Anderson  Slogvig,  who  undoubtedly  was  the 
chief  promoter  of  immigration  in  1836.  He  had 
come  in  the  sloop  in  1825,  and,  as  we  have  seen, 
settled  in  La  Salle  County  in  1834.  In  1835  he  re 
turned  to  Skjold,  Norway,  and  there  married  a  sis 
ter  of  Ole  0.  Hetletvedt,  the  slooper  whom  we  find 
as  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  La  Salle  County. 
While  there,  people  came  to  talk  with  him  about 

35  mrst  Chapter,  p.  331. 


FOX  RIVER  SETTLEMENT  63 

America  from  all  parts  of  southwestern  Norway; 
and  a  large  number  in  and  about  Stavanger  decided 
to  emigrate.  Slogvig's  return  may  be  said  to  have 
started  the  "America-fever"  in  Norway,  though  it 
took  some  years  before  it  reached  the  central  and 
the  eastern  parts  of  the  country.  It  was  his  inten 
tion  to  return  to  America  in  1836,  and  a  large  party 
was  preparing  to  emigrate  with  him. 

In  the  spring  of  that  year  the  two  brigs,  Nor  den 
and  Den  Norske  Klippe,  were  fitted  out  from  Stav 
anger.  The  former  sailed  on  the  first  Wednesday 
after  Pentecost,  arriving  in  New  York  July  twelfth, 
1836.  The  latter  sailed  a  few  weeks  later.  They 
carried  altogether  two  hundred  immigrants,  most  of 
whom  went  directly  to  La  Salle  County.  Of  these 
two  brigs  I  shall  speak  again  in  a  subsequent  chap 
ter. 

I  have  above  given  some  of  the  facts  of  Knud 
Slogvig's  personal  history.  Having  already  spoken 
of  one  element  in  the  cause  of  emigration  I  believe 
it  will  be  in  place  to  give  a  fuller  account  at  this 
point  of  the  various  general  and  special  factors  that 
have  been  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  com 
ing  to  America  of  such  a  large  part  of  the  population 
of  Norway  in  the  19th  century. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Causes    of    Emigration    from    Norway.    General 
Factors,  Economic. 

What  are  the  causes  that  have  brought  about  the 
exodus  from  Norway  and  in  general  from  the  Scan 
dinavian  countries  in  the  19th  century?  The  ques 
tion  is  not  a  simple  one  to  answer;  for  the  causes 
have  been  many  and  varied,  and  it  would  be  impossi 
ble  in  the  following  pages  to  discuss  all  the  circum 
stances  and  influences  that  have  operated  to  pro 
mote  the  northern  emigration  and  directed  it  to 
America.  Perhaps  there  is  something  in  the  highly 
developed  migratory  instinct  of  Indo-European 
peoples.  Especially  has  this  instinct  characterized 
the  Germanic  branch,  whether  it  be  Goth  or  Vandal, 
Anglo-Saxon,  Viking  or  Norman,36  or  their  descend 
ants,  the  Teutonic  peoples  of  modern  times,  by  whom 
chiefly  the  United  States  has  been  peopled  and  de 
veloped. 

Of  tangible  motives,  one  that  has  every 
where  been  a  fundamental  factor  in  promoting  em 
igration  from  European  countries  in  modern  times 
has  been  the  prospect  of  material  betterment. 
Where  no  barriers  have  been  put  against  the  emi 
gration  of  the  poor  or  the  ambitious,  unless  special 
causes  have  arisen  to  create  discontent  with  one's 

36  That  is,  "Northman." 


CAUSES  OF  EMIGRATION  65 

condition,  the  extent  to  which  European  countries 
have  contributed  to  our  immigrant  population  may 
be  measured  fairly  closely  by  the  economic  condi 
tions  at  home.  As  far  as  the  Northern  countries 
are  concerned  I  would  class  all  these  causes  under 
two  heads :  the  first  will  comprise  all  those  condi 
tions,  natural  and  artificial,  that  can  be  summarized 
under  the  term  economic ;  the  second  will  include 
a  number  of  special  circumstances  or  motives  which 
may  vary  somewhat  for  the  three  countries,  indeed 
often  for  the  locality  and  the  individual. 

First  then  we  may  consider  the  causes  which 
arise  from  economic  conditions.  These  are  well  il~ 
lustrated  by  the  Scandinavian  countries,  slightly 
modified  in  each  case  by  the  operation  of  the  special 
causes.  Norway  is  a  land  of  mountains,  these  mak 
ing  up  in  the  fact  fifty-nine  per  cent  of  its  total 
area,  while  forty-four  per  cent  of  the  soil  of  Sweden 
is  unproductive.  The  winters  are  long  and  severe, 
the  cold  weather  frequently  sets  in  too  early  for  the 
crops  to  ripen ;  with  crop  failure  comes  lack  of  work 
for  the  laboring  classes,  and,  burdened  by  heavy 
taxation,  as  was  the  Norwegian  farmer  only  too 
often  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  debt  and  im 
poverishment  for  the  holders  of  the  numerous  en 
cumbered  smaller  estates.  In  Norway,  especially, 
the  rewards  of  labor  are  meagre  and  the  opportuni 
ties  for  material  betterment  small.37  "Hard  times " 
and  the  inability  of  the  country  to  support  the  rapid- 

37  A  great  change  for  the  better  has  been  taking  place  during 
the  last  few  years. 


66  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

ly  increasing  population  has,  then,  been  a  most 
potent  factor.38  The  same  will  hold  true  of  Sweden, 
though  in  a  somewhat  less  degree.  Denmark  is 
better  able  to  support  a  population  of  one  hundred 
and  forty-eight  to  the  square  mile  than  Sweden  one 
of  twenty-eight  or  Norway  one  of  eighteen. 39 

In  this  connection  compare  above  the  statistics 
of  immigration  from  the  three  countries,  which  are 
much  lower  for  Denmark  than  for  Norway  and 
Sweden.  The  Danes  at  home  are  a  contented  peo 
ple,  and  it  is  noticeable  also  that  it  is  they  who  are 
most  conservative  here,  who  foster  the  closest  rela 
tion  with  the  old  home,  and  who  consequently  become 
Americanized  last.  The  Norwegians  are  the  most 
discontented,  are  readiest  for  a  change,  are  quickest 
to  try  the  new ;  and  it  is  they  who  most  readily  break 
the  bonds  that  bind  them  to  their  native  country, 
who  most  quickly  adapt  themselves  to  the  conditions 
here,  and  who  most  rapidly  become  Americanized. 

Professor  E.  B. ^Anderson,  in  his  book  on  the 
early  Norwegian  immigration40  puts  religious  per 
secution  as  the  primary  cause  of  emigration  from 
Norway.  I  cannot  possibly  believe  that  even  in  the 

38  Thus  the  failure  of  crops  and  the  famine  in  Northern  Sweden, 
Finland,   and  Norway  in   1902   was   followed  by  a   vastly  increased 
immigration    from    these    sections.     See    above    page    28.     Compare 
Table   II,   Appendix. 

39  The  area  and  population  of  the  three  countries  are: — Sweden, 
area    172,876   sq.   m.,   population   in    1901,   5,175,228;    Norway,   area 
124,129,  population  in  1900,  2,239,880;  Denmark,  area  15,360,  popula 
tion  in  1901,  2,447,441. 

40  First  Chapter,  eto. 


CAUSES  OF  EMIGRATION  67 

immigration  of  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  cen 
tury  religious  persecution  was,  except  in  a  few  cases, 
the  primary  or  even  a  very  important  cause  in  the 
Scandinavian  countries.  In  conversation  with  and 
in  numerous  letters  from  pioneers  and  their  descend 
ants,  especially  in  Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  I  have  found 
that  the  hope  of  larger  returns  for  one's  labor  is 
everywhere  given  as  the  main  motive,  sometimes  as 
the  only  one.  Whether  'it  be  the  pioneers  of 
La  Salle  County,  Illinois,  in  the  thirties,  those  of 
Rock  or  Dane  counties,  Wisconsin,  in  the  forties, 
or  the  Norwegian  settlers  of  Clayton  and  Winne- 
shiek  counties,  Iowa,  in  the  late  forties  and  the 
fifties;  the  causes  are  everywhere  principally  econ 
omic.  But  letters  written  by  pioneers  and  by  those 
about  to  emigrate  testify  amply  to  the  fact  that  it 
was  the  hard  times  that  was  the  chief  cause.  And 
the  same  applies  almost  as  generally  to  the  Swedes; 
among  the  Danes  the  economic  factor  has  not  oper 
ated  so  extensively,  though  here,  also,  it  was  the  pre 
ponderating  cause. 

A  Norwegian  journal,  Billed-Magazin,  published 
in  Chicago  in  1869-70  and  edited  by  Professor  Svein 
Nil  sen,  offers  much  that  throws  light  on  this  ques 
tion.  It  contains  brief  accounts  of  the  early  Nor 
wegian  immigration  and  the  earliest  settlements,  a 
regular  column  of  news  from  the  Scandinavian  coun 
tries,  interviews  with  pioneers,  etc.  In  one  inter 
view,  Ole  Nattestad,  who  sailed  in  1837  from  Vaegli, 
Numedal,  and  became  the  founder  of  the  fourth  Nor- 


68  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

wegian  settlement  in  America,  that  of  Jefferson 
Prairie  in  Eock  County,  Wisconsin,  and  the  neigh 
boring  Boone  County  in  Illinois,  describes  his  exper 
ience  as  a  farmer  in  Numedal  and  how  the  difficulty 
of  making  any  headwjay  finally  drove  him  to  emi 
grate  to  America.41  The  statement  of  another  pio 
neer  I  quote  in  its  entirety.42  It  is  that  of  John  Nel 
son  Luraas,  who  came  from  Tin  in  Telemarken,  to 
Muskego,  Wisconsin,  in  1839,  and  in  1843  moved  to 
Dane  County,  Wisconsin.  He  says : 
^-•^\  was  my  father's  oldest  son,  and  consequently  heir  to 
the  Luraas  farm.  It  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  in  that 
neighborhood,  but  there  was  a  $1,400  mortgage  on  it.  I  had 
worked  for  my  father  until  I  was  twenty-five  years  old,  and 
had  had  no  opportunity  of  getting  money.  It  was  plain  to 
me  that  I  would  have  a  hard  time  of  it,  if  I  should  take  the 
farm  with  the  debt  resting  on  it,  pay  a  reasonable  amount  to 
my  brothers  and  sisters,  and  assume  the  care  of  my  aged 
father.  I  saw  to  my  horror  how  one  farm  after  the  other 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  lendsman  and  other  money-lenders, 
and  this  increased  my  dread  of  attempting  farming.  But  I 
got  married  and  had  to  do  something.  Then  it  occurred  to 
me  that  the  best  thing  might  be  to  emigrate  to  America.  I 
was  encouraged  in  this  purpose  by  letters  written  by  Nor 
wegian  settlers  in  Illinois  who  had  lived  two  years  in  Amer 
ica.  Such  were  the  causes  that  led  me  to  emigrate  and  I 
presume  the  rest  of  our  company  were  actuated  by  similar 
motives.  43 


41  Billed  -  Magazin,  1869,  pp.  82-83. 

42  Billed-Magazin,  1869,  pp.  6-7. 

43  In  1868,  Mr.  Luraas  moved  to  Webster  County,  Iowa,  returning 
to  Dane  County,  Wisconsin,  in  1873.     I  knew  him  in  the  early  nineties 


CAUSES  OF  EMIGRATION  69 

In  a  letter  written  by  Andreas  Sandsberg  at 
Hellen,  Norway,  September  twelfth,  1831,  to  Gud- 
mund  Sandsberg  in  Kendall,  New  York,  the  former 
complains  of  the  hard  times  in  Norway.  In  the 
spring  of  1836  the  second  party  of  emigrants  from 
Stavanger  County  came  to  America.  On  the  14th 
of  May  of  that  year  Andreas  Sandsberg  wrote  his 
brother  Gudmund  in  America  as  follows: 

A  considerable  number  of  people  are  now  getting  ready 
to  go  to  America  from  this  Amt.  Two  brigs  are  to  depart 
from  Stavanger  in  about  eight  days  from  now,  and  will 
carry  these  people  to  America,  and  if  good  reports  come 
from  them,  the  number  of  emigrants  will  doubtless  be  still 
larger  next  year.  A  pressing  and  general  lack  of  money 
entering  into  every  branch  of  industry,  stops  or  at  least 
hampers  business  and  makes  it  difficult  for  many  people  to 
earn  the  necessaries  of  life.  While  this  is  the  case  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic  there  is  hope  for  abundance  on  the 
other,  and  this  I  take  it,  is  the  chief  cause  of  this  growing 
disposition  to  emigrate.  44 

Ole  Olson  Menes,  who  came  to  America  in  1845, 
is  cited  in  Billed-Magazin,  1870,  page  130,  as  follows, 
illustrating  the  prominence  of  the  economic  cause 
nine  years  later : 

The  emigrants  of  the  preceding  year  (1844)     . 
wrote  home     ....     and  told  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil, 
the  cheap  prices  of  land  and  of  good  wages.     In  a  letter 
which  I  received  from  Iver  Hove,  he  writes  that  there  they 

as  a  well-to-do  retired  farmer  living  in  Stoughton,  Wisconsin.     He 
died  in  1894. 

44  Letter  copied  from  the  original  by  R.  B.  Anderson  in  1896  and 
printed  in  First  Chapter,  pp.  135-136. 


70  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

raise  thirty -five  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  and  the  grass  is 
so  thick  that  one  can  easily  cut  enough  in  one  day  for  winter 
feed  for  the  cow.  Such  things  fell  to  our  liking,  and  many 
looked  forward  with  eager  longing  to  the  distant  West, 
which  was  pictured  as  the  Eden  that  loving  Providence  had 
destined  as  a  home  for  the  workingman  of  Norway,  so 
oppressed  with  cares  and  want. 

Of  those  here  cited,  Nattestad  was  from  Nume- 
dal,  Luraas  from  Telemarken,  Menes  from  Sogn, 
while  Sandsberg  came  from  Ryfylke.  But  the  con 
ditions  were  the  same  also  in  other  provinces.  In 
1844,  Hans  C.  Tollefsrude  and  wife  emigrated  from 
Land.  Of  the  cause  of  his  emigrating  and  that  of 
early  emigration  from  Land  in  general,  his  son 
Christian  H.  Tollefsrude  of  Kolf e,  Iowa,  writes  me : 

The  causes  were,  no  personal  means  and  no  prospect 
even  securing  a  home  in  their  native  district,  Torpen, 
Nordre  Land  (letter  of  July  27,  1904). 

Eev.  Abraham  Jacobson  of  Decorah,  Iowa,  a 
pioneer  himself,  writes : 

Reasons  for  emigrating  were  mostly  economic,  very  few 

if  any  religious Wages  here  were  at  the  very 

least  double  that  in  Norway,  and  generally  much  more  than 
that. 

Of  the  emigration  from  Eingsaker,  I  may  cite 
Simon  Simerson  of  Belmond,  Iowa : 

The  causes  were  economic.  In  the  case  of  my  parents, 
they  came  here  to  create  the  home  that  they  saw  no  chance 
of  securing  in  the  mother  country.  (Letter  of  Oct.  12, 
1904.) 

Similar  evidence  might  be  adduced  for  other 
districts  and  for  all  the  older  settlements  through- 


CAUSES  OF  EMIGRATION  71 

out  the  Northwest.  At  a  meeting  held  at  the  home 
of  Ole  0.  Flom  in  Stoughton,  Wisconsin,  on  July 
twenty- eighth,  1908,  when  the  present  writer  read  a 
paper  on  " Early  Norwegian  Immigration,"  testi 
mony  to  the  same  effect  was  given  by  old  pioneers 
there  present.  There  is  no  need  of  further  multi 
plying  the  evidence. 

A  highly  developed  spirit  of  independence  has 
always  been  a  dominant  element  in  the  Scandinavian 
character,  —  I  have  reference  here  particularly  to 
his  desire  for  personal  independence,  that  is,  in 
dependence  in  his  condition  in  life.  Nothing  is  so 
repugnant  to  him  as  indebtedness  to  others  and  de 
pendence  on  others.  An  able-bodied  Scandinavian 
who  was  a  burden  to  his  fellows  was  well-nigh  un 
heard  of.  By  the  right  of  primogeniture  the  pater 
nal  estate  would  go  to  the  oldest  son.  The  families 
being  frequently  large,  the  owning  of  a  home  was  to 
a  great  many  practically  an  impossibility  under 
wage  conditions  as  they  were  in  the  North  in  the 
first  half  and  more  of  the  preceding  century. 

Thus  the  Scandinavian  farmer's  son,  with  his 
love  of  personal  independence  and  his  strong  inher 
ent  desire  to  own  a  home,  finding  himself  so  cir 
cumstanced  in  his  native  country  that  there  was 
little  hope  of  his  being  able  to  realize  this  ambition 
except  in  the  distant  uncertain  future,  listens,  with 
a  willing  ear  to  descriptions  of  America,  with  its 
quick  returns  and  its  great  opportunities.  And  so 
he  decides  to  emigrate.  And  this  he  is  free  to  do 


72  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

for  the  government  puts  no  barrier  upon  his  emi 
grating.  This  trait  has  impelled  many  a  Scandinav 
ian  to  come  and  settle  in  America ;  and  it  is  a  trait 
that  is  the  surest  guarantee  of  the  character  of  his 
citizenship.  Here,  too,  a  social  factor  merits  men 
tion. 

While  the  nobility  was  abolished  in  Norway  in 
1814,  the  lines  between  the  upper  and  lower  classes, 
the  wealthy  and  the  poor,  were  tightly  drawn  and 
social  classes  were  well  defined.  And  while  Norway 
is  today  the  most  democratic  country  in  Europe, 
and  Sweden  and  Denmark  are  also  thoroughly  lib 
eral  (in  part  through  the  influence  of  America  and 
American-Scandinavians),  a  titled  aristocracy  still 
exists  in  these  countries.  The  extreme  deference  to 
those  in  superior  station  or  position  that  custom 
and  existing  conditions  enforced  upon  those  in 
humbler  condition  was  repugnant  to  them.  Not  in 
frequently  have  pioneers  given  this  as  one  cause  for 
emigrating  in  connection  with  that  of  economic  ad 
vantage. 


CHAPTEK  VII 

Causes  of  Emigration  Continued.    Special  Factors. 
Religion  as  a  Cause.    Emigration  Agents. 

In  the  class  of  special  causes  which  have  in 
fluenced  the  Scandinavian  emigration,  political  op 
pression  has  operated  only  in  the  case  of  the  Danes 
in  Southern  Jutland.45 

Military  service,  which  elsewhere  has  often  played 
such  an  important  part  in  promoting  emigration,  has, 
in  the  Scandinavian  countries,  been  only  a  minor  fac 
tor,  the  period  of  service  required  being  very  short. 
Nevertheless  it  has  in  not  a  few  cases  been  a  second 
ary  cause  for  emigrating.  Those  with  whom  I  have 
spoken  who  have  given  this  as  their  motive  have, 

45  As  a  result  of  the  Dane-Prussian  war  of  1864  Jutland  below 
Skodborghus  became  a  province  of  Prussia.  The  greatly  increased 
taxes  that  immediately  followed  and  the  restrictions  imposed  by  the 
Prussian  government  upon  the  use  of  the  Danish  language,  as  well  as 
other  oppressive  measures  that  formed  a  part  of  the  general  plan  of 
the  Prussianizing  of  Sleswick-Holstein,  drove  large  numbers  of  Danes 
away  from  their  homes,  and  most  of  these  came  to  the  United  States. 
In  notes  and  correspondence  from  Denmark  in  Scandinavian-Ameri 
can  papers  during  these  years  complaints  regarding  such  regulations 
constantly  appear,  and  figures  of  emigration  of  Danes  ' '  who  did  not 
wish  to  be  Prussians ' '  are  unusually  large  for  this  period ;  for  ex 
ample  in  the  foreign  column  of  the  Billed-Magazin.  The  United 
States  statistics  also  show  a  sudden  increase  in  the  Danish  immi 
gration  during  the  sixties  and  the  early  seventies.  From  1850- 
1861  not  more  than  3,983  had  emigrated  from  Denmark;  while  in 
the  thirteen  years  from  1862  to  1874  the  number  reached  30,978. 


74  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

however,  been  mostly  Norwegians  and  Swedes;  but 
none  of  those  who  belong  to  the  earlier  period  of 
emigration  give  their  desire  to  escape  military  ser 
vice  as  a  cause. 

Eeligious  persecution  has  played  a  part  in  some 
cases,  especially  in  Norway  and  Sweden.  The  state 
church  is  the  Lutheran,  but  every  sect  has  been  tol 
erated  since  the  middle  of  the  century,  in  Norway 
since  1845.  While  few  countries  have  been  freer 
from  the  evil  of  active  persecution  because  of  relig 
ious  belief,  intolerance  and  religious  narrowness 
have  not  been  wanting.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  the  followers  of  the  lay  preach 
er,  Hans  Nielsen  Hauge,  in  Norway  were  everywhere 
persecuted.  Hauge  himself  was  imprisoned  in 
Christiania  for  eight  years.  And  the  Jansenists  in 
Helsingland,  Sweden,  were  in  the  forties  subjected 
to  similar  persecution.  Thus  Eric  Jansen  was  ar 
rested  several  times  for  conducting  religious  meet 
ings  between  1842-1846, —  though  it  must  in  fairness 
be  admitted  that  his  first  arrest  was  undoubtedly 
provoked  by  the  extreme  procedure  of  the  dissenters 
themselves.  After  having  been  put  in  prison  repeat 
edly,  Jansen  embarked  for  America  in  1846  and  be 
came  the  founder  of  the  communistic  colony  of  fol 
lowers  at  Bishopshille, 46  Henry  County,  Illinois.  No 

46  So  named  from  BisTcopskulla,  Jansen 's  native  place  in  Sweden. 
See  article  by  Major  John  Swainson  on  "The  Swedish  Colony  at 
Bishopshill,  Illinois,"  in  Nelson's  Scandinavians,  I,  p.  142.  This 
article  gives  an  excellent  account  of  the  founding  of  the  Bishopshill 
settlement  and  Jansen 's  connection  with  it.  See  also  American  Com 
munities  by  Wm.  Alfred  Hinds,  1902,  pp.  300-320. 


CAUSES  OF  EMIGRATION  75 

such  organized  emigration  took  place  among  the 
Haugians,  but  we  have  no  means  of  knowing  to  what 
extent  individual  emigration  of  the  followers  of 
Hauge  took  place  during  the  three  decades  immedi 
ately  after  his  death.  The  well-known  Elling  Eiel- 
son,  a  lay  preacher  and  an  ardent  Haugian,  emi 
grated  in  1839  to  Fox  River,  La  Salle  County,  Illi 
nois,  and  many  of  those  who  believed  in  the  methods 
of  Hauge  and  Eielson  came  to  America  in  the  fol 
lowing  years. 

It  was  persecution  also  that  drove  many  Scan 
dinavian  Moravians  to  America  in  1740  and  1747. 
Moravian  societies  had  been  formed  in  Christiania 
in  1737,  in  Copenhagen  in  1739,  in  Stockholm  in 
1740,  and  in  Bergen  in  1740.47  In  1735  German 
Moravians  from  Herrnhut,  Saxony,  established  a 
colony  at  Savannah,  Georgia.47  In  this  colony  there 
seem  to  have  been  some  Danes  and  Norwegians. 
In  1740  a  permanent  colony  was  located  at  Bethle 
hem,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1747  one  at  Bethabara, 
North  Carolina.  Persecuted  Norwegian,  Swedish, 
and  Danish  Moravians  took  part  in  the  founding  of 
both  these  colonies. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  first  Norwegian  settlement 
in  America  was  established  in  Kendall,  Orleans 
County,  New  York,  in  1825.  It  has  been  claimed  that 
the  "slo?r°rs"  were  driven  to  emigrate  by  perse 
cution  at  home. 48  Another  writer  has  shown  that  the 

47  Decorah-Posten,  September  9,  1904,  p.  5.  See  also  above  p.  37. 

48  E.  B.  Anderson  is  emphatic  in  this  view.     Pages  45-131  of  his 
First  Chapter  of  Norwegian  Immigration  are  devoted  to  a  discussion 


76  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

only  one  of  the  Stavanger  Quakers  who  suffered  for 
his  belief  prior  to  1826  was  Elias  Tastad,  and  he,  it 
seems,  did  not  emigrate.49  The  leader  of  the  emi 
grants  in  Restaurationen,  Lars  Larson  i  Jeilane,  had 
spent  one  year  in  London  in  the  employ  of  the  noted 
English  Quaker,  William  Allen.  In  1818,  Stephen 
Grellet,  a  French  nobleman,  who  had  become  a 
Quaker  in  America,  and  William  Allen  preached  in 
Stavanger.49  The  Quakers  of  Stavanger  were  of 
the  poorest  of  the  people.  It  is  highly  probable,  as 
another  writer  states,50  that  Grellet,  while  there, 
suggested  to  them  that  they  emigrate  to  America 
where  they  could  better  their  condition  in  material 
things  and  at  the  same  time  practice  their  religion 
without  violating  the  laws  of  the  country.  The  main 
motive  was  therefore  probably  economic. 

It  is  perfectly  clear  to  me  that  not  very  many  of 
the  Orleans  County  colonists  were  devout  Quakers; 
for  we  soon  find  them  wandering  apart  into  various 
other  churches.  Some  returned  to  Lutheranism; 
those  who  went  west  became  mostly  Methodists  or 
Mormons  ;  others  did  not  join  any  church  ;  while  the 
descendants  of  those  who  remained  are  to-day  Meth 
odists.  The  Orleans  County  Quakers  do  not  seeir" 
to  have  even  erected  a  meeting-house  ;  and  in 


of  the  sloop  "Restaurationen"  and  the  Quaker  Colony 
County. 

49  Nelson's  History  of  Scandinavians,  1901,  p.  ] 

50  B.  L.  Wick,  in  The  Friends,  Philadelphia,  J  894,  j 
Nelson,  p.  134.     I  have  not  been  able  to  secure  a  ;y>py  c 

article,  therefore  cannot  here  state  the  arguments,  jr  cite  more  fully. 


CAUSES  OF  EMIGRATION  77 

dinavian  settlements  a  church,  however  humble,  is, 
next  to  a  home,  the  first  thought.51  Nevertheless 
the  Quakers  of  Stavanger  did  suffer  annoyances, 
and  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  leader  of  the 
expedition  and  the  owner  of  the  sloop  was  a  devout 
Quaker,52  as  were  also  at  least  two  other  leading 
members  of  the  party.  Had  it  not  been  for  these 
very  men  the  party  would  probably  not  have  emi 
grated,  at  least  not  at  that  time. 

There  was  much  persecution  of  the  early  con 
verts  to  the  Baptist  faith  in  Denmark  between 
1850-1860;  and  not  a  few  of  this  sect  emigrated.  In 
1848  F.  0.  Nilson,  one  of  the  early  leaders  of  the 
Baptist  Church  in  Sweden,  was  imprisoned  and  later 
banished  from  the  country.  He  fled  to  Denmark, 
and  in  1851  embarked  for  America.  In  the  fifties 
Swedish  Baptists  in  considerable  numbers  came  to 
the  United  States  because  of  persecution.  There 
are,  however,  very  few  Norwegian  Baptists,  and  I 
know  of  no  cases  where  persecution  drove  Baptists 
to  leave  Norway. 

Proselyting  of  some  non-Lutheran  churches  in 

Scandinavia  has  been  the  means  of  bringing  many 

Swedes,  Norwegians,  and  Danes  to  this  country.     In 

he  fifties  Mormon  missionaries  were  especially  ac- 

51  The  reader  who  knows  Bjornson's  Synnove  SolbaTcken  will  re 
member  the  author's  introduction  of  this  feature  in  Chapter  II,  the 
first  two  pages. 

52  Lars    Larson    settled    in    Rochester   where    he    could    attend    a 
Quaker  church.     The   same  is  true   of   Ole  Johnson,   another   of   the 
"sloopers"  who  later  settled  in  Kendall  but  finally  returned  to  Roch 
ester,  where  he  died  in  1877. 


78  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

tive  in  Denmark  and  Norway.  Their  efforts  did  not 
seem  to  be  attended  by  much  success  in  Norway, 
though  not  a  few  converts  were  made  among  the 
Norwegians  in  the  early  settlements  in  Illinois  and 
Iowa,  as  in  the  Fox  Eiver  Settlement. 5S  In  Den 
mark,  however,  Mormon  proselyting  was  more  suc 
cessful  than  in  Norway.  All  those  who  accepted 
Mormonism  emigrated  to  America  of  course,  and 
most  of  them  to  Utah.  In  the  years  1851,  1852,  and 

1853  there  emigrated  fourteen,  three,  and  thirty- 
two  Danes,  respectively,  to  this  country.    But  in 

1854  the  number  rose  to  691,  and  in  the  following 
three  years  to  1,736.    In  1850  there  were  in  Utah  two 
Danes ;  in  1870  there  were  4,957.     The  first  Norwe 
gian  to  go  to  Utah  probably  was  Henrik  E.  Sebbe, 
who  came  to  America  in  1836,  and  went  to  Utah  in 
1848,  where  he  became  a  Mormon.53 

In  1849  a  Norwegian-American,  0.  P.  Peterson, 
first    introduced    Methodism    in    Norway.54    After 

1855  a  regular  Methodist  mission  was  established 
in  Scandinavia  under  the  supervision  of  a  Danish- 
American,  C.  B.  Willerup.55    While  the  Methodist 


53  Some  of  the  early  Mormon  leaders  were  Norwegians,  however, 
as  Bishop  Canute  Peterson  (Marsett),  of  Ephraim,  Utah,  who  came 
to  America  in  1837  from  Hardanger,  Norway.     The  slooper  Gudmund 
Haugaas  became  an  elder  in  the  church  of  the  Latter  Day  Saints  in 
La  Salle  County,  Illinois;  he  died  in  1849  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
eon  Thomas  Haugaas. 

54  See  a  brief  account  by  Eev.  N.  M.  Liljegren  in  Nelson's  His 
tory  of  Scandinavians,  I,  pp.  205-209. 

55  Methodism  had  been  introduced  into   Sweden   from   England 
early  in  the  century. 


CAUSES  OF  EMIGRATION  79 

church  has  not  prospered  in  the  Scandinavian  coun 
tries,  especially  in  Denmark  and  Norway,  there  are 
large  numbers  of  Methodists  among  the  Scandina 
vian  immigrants  in  this  country,56  and  the  early  con 
gregations  were  recruited  for  a  large  part  from 
Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark. 

The  efforts  of  steamship  companies  and  emigra 
tion  agents  have  been  a  powerful  factor  in  promot 
ing  Scandinavian  emigration.  Through  them  lit 
erature  advertising  in  glowing  terms  the  advantages 
of  the  New  World  was  scattered  far  and  wide  in 
Scandinavia.  Such  literature  often  dealt  with  the 
prosperity  of  Scandinavians  who  had  previously  set 
tled  in  America.  Letters  from  successful  settlers 
were  often  printed  and  distributed  broadcast.  The 
early  immigrants  from  the  North  settled  largely  in 
Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and,  a  little  later,  in  Iowa.  As 
clearers  of  the  forest  and  tillers  of  the  soil  they  con 
tributed  their  large  share  to  the  development  of  the 
country.  None  could  better  endure  the  hardships 
of  pioneer  life  on  the  western  frontier.  Knowing 
this,  many  western  states  began  to  advertise  their 
respective  advantages  in  the  Scandinavian  coun 
tries. 


56  By  far  the  larger  number,  however,  are  Swedes. 


OHAPTEE  VIII 

Causes  of  Emigration  continued.     The  Influence  of 

Successful    Pioneers.      "America-letters." 

The  Spirit  of  Adventure.     Summary. 

Far  more  influential,  however,  than  the  factors 
just  noted  were  the  efforts  put  forth  by  successful 
immigrants  to  induce  their  relatives  and  friends  to 
follow  them.  Numerous  letters  were  written  home 
praising  American  laws  and  institutions,  and  set 
ting  forth  the  opportunities  here  offered.  These 
letters  were  read  and  passed  around  to  friends. 
Many  who  had  relatives  in  America  would  travel 
long  distances  to  hear  what  the  last  "  America-let 
ter  "  had  to  report.  Among  the  early  immigrants 
who  did  much  in  this  way  to  promote  emigration 
from  their  native  districts  wias  one  whom  we  have 
already  spoken  of,  Gjert  Hovland.  He  wrote  many 
letters  home  praising  American  institutions.  These 
letters  "were  transcribed  and  the  copies  distributed 
far  and  wide  in  the  Province  of  Bergen ;  and  a  large 
number  were  thus  led  to  emigrate. ' ' 57 

The  interviews  in  Billed-Magazin  contain 
statements  from  several  among  the  early  settlers 
on  Koshkonong  Prairie  and  the  neighborhood  of 
Stoughton  which  give  evidence  of  the  part  that 
' l  America-letters "  played  in  their  emigration.  On 

57  See  Billed-Magazin,  p.  74. 


CAUSES  OF  EMIGRATION  81 

page  123  occurs  a  statement  of  Gaute  Ingbrigtson 
(Gulliksrud)  who  came  from  Tin  in  Telemarken  in 
1843  and  became  one  of  the  earliest  pioneers  of  Dun 
kirk  Township  in  Dane  County.  He  says :  ' '  Two  of 
my  uncles  and  a  brother  emigrated  in  1839.  I,  how 
ever,  remained  at  home  with  my  father  who  was  a 
farmer  in  the  Parish  of  Tin.  But  then  letters  came 
with  good  news  from  America,  and  my  relatives  as 
well  as  other  acquaintances  on  this  side  of  the  ocean 
were  encouraged  to  emigrate.  From  this  it  came 
about  that  I  and  many  others  in  my  native  district 
prepared  for  leaving  in  the  spring  of  1843.  The  party 
numbered  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  .  .  .  .  " 
We  have  already  had  occasion  to  refer  to  a  let 
ter  received  by  Ole  Menes  of  Stoughton  in  1845. 
Ingbrigt  Helle  came  from  Kragero  in  1845  and 
settled  in  the  Town  of  Dunn.  The  ship  he  came  on 
brought  one  hundred  and  forty  immigrants  and  he 
mentions  the  fact  that  many  had  been  induced  to 
emigrate  by  letters  from  America,  and  he  writes : 
"Such  letters  from  America  urging  emigration  was, 
as  far  as  I  can  see,  the  thing  that  brought  the  major 
ity  of  emigrants  to  bid  farewell  to  Norway. "  Ole 
Knudson  Dyrland,  who  emigrated  from  Siljord, 
Telemarken,  in  1843,  and  became  one  of  the  earliest 
white  settlers  in  Dunn  Township,  Dane  County,  testi 
fying  to  the  same  fact,  mentions  Ole  Knudson  Tro- 
vatten  as  one  who,  through  letters,  exerted  consider 
able  influence  upon  emigration  in  Telemarken  (page 
218,  Billed-Magazin,  1870).  We  shall  meet  Trovat- 


82  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

ten  again  below  as  a  pioneer  in  the  Town  of  Cottage 
Grove  in  the  same  county.  The  editor  of  Billed- 
Magazin  writes  of  Trovatten  elsewhere,  page  283, 
after  giving  a  brief  sketch  of  his  life:  "he  settled  on 
Koshkonong  and  wrote  therefrom  many  letters  to 
his  numerous  friends  in  his  native  country  in  which 
he,  with  much  eloquence,  made  his  countrymen  ac 
quainted  with  the  glories  of  America,  and  there  is 
no  doubt  that  Trovatten  in  a  large  measure  gave 
the  impulse  to  the  rapid  development  of  emigration 
in  the  region  of  Telemarken. ' ' 

Of  Trovatten 's  influence  as  a  promoter  of  immi 
gration  Gunder  T.  Mandt,  himself  an  immigrant  of 
1843  (died  1907,  Stoughton,  Wisconsin),  gives  sim 
ilar  testimony.  He  speaks  of  the  opposition  to  emi 
gration  in  Upper  Telemarken,  which  found  expres 
sion  in  all  sorts  of  adverse  accounts  of  America, 
especially  among  the  clergy,  and  that  much  uncer 
tainty  prevailed  among  the  masses  as  to  the  advisa 
bility  of  going  to  America.  During  all  this,  Trovat 
ten,  he  says,  "came  to  be  looked  upon  as  an  angel 
of  peace,  who  had  gone  beforehand  to  the  New 
World,  whence  he  sent  back  home  to  his  countrymen, 
so  burdened  by  economic  sorrows,  the  olive-branch 
of  promise,  with  assurances  of  a  happier  life  in 
America.  .  .  .  'Ole  Trovatten  has  said  so,'  became 
the  refrain  in  all  accounts  of  the  land  of  wonder,  and 
in  a  few  years  he  was  the  most  talked  of  man  in 
Upper  Telemarken.  His  letters  from  America  gave 
a  powerful  impulse  to  emigration,  and  it  is  probable 


CAUSES  OF  EMIGRATION  83 

that  hundreds  of  those  who  now  are  plowing  the 
soil  of  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  would  still  be  living 
in  their  ancestors'  domains  in  the  land  of  Harald 
Fairhair,  if  they  had  not  been  induced  to  bid  old 
Norway  farewell  through  Trovatten's  glittering  ac 
counts  of  conditions  on  this  side  of  the  ocean. " 
(Billed-Magazin,  1870,  p.  38.)  Similar  evidence  of 
the  influence  of  "  America-letters "  is  also  given  by 
Knud  Aslakson  Juve,  a  pioneer  of  1844,  in  the  Town 
of  Pleasant  Spring,  in  Dane  County. 

At  the  close  of  the  preceding  chapter  I  spoke  of 
Gjert  Hovland's  letters  in  1835  as  a  chief  factor  in 
bringing  about  the  emigration  of  1836.  From  set 
tlers  in  other  portions  of  the  country  comes  testi 
mony  of  similar  nature,  and  I  have  spoken  with 
many  pioneers  from  a  later  period  of  immigration, 
whose  coming  was,  in  the  last  instance,  determined 
by  favorite  accounts  of  America  received  from 
friends  and  relatives  already  resident  there. 

In  letters  from  immigrants  to  their  relatives  at 
home  prepaid  tickets,  or  the  price  of  the  ticket,  were 
often  enclosed.  This  custom  was  so  common  as  to 
become  a  special  factor  in  emigration.  According 
to  Norsk  Folkeblad  (cited  in  Billed-Magazin^  p.  134), 
4,000  Norwegian  emigrants,  via  Christiana  in  1868, 
took  with  them  $40,335  (Speciedaler)  in  cash  money 
of  which  $21,768  (Spd.)  had  been  sent  by  relatives 
in  America  to  cover  the  expense  of  the  journey.  It 
has  been  estimated  that  about  fifty  per  cent  of  Scan- 


84  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

dinavian  emigrants,  arrive  by  prepaid  passage  tick 
ets  secured  by  relatives  in  this  country.58 

The  visits  of  successful  Scandinavians  back 
home  was  in  the  early  days  an  important  factor; 
and  as  a  rule  only  those  who  had  been  prosperous 
would  return.  In  1835  Knud  Anderson  Slogvig, 
who  had  emigrated  in  the  sloop  as  we  know,  return 
ed  to  Norway  and  became  the  chief  promoter  of 
the  exodus  from  the  Province  of  Stavanger  in  1836, 
which  resulted  in  the  settlement  at  Fox  River,  La 
Salle  County,  Illinois. 

We  have  already  above,  page  63,  recited  this 
fact  and  its  significance  toward  promoting  fur 
ther  emigration  from  Stavanger  Province  and  of  in 
augurating  the  first  exodus  from  Hardanger  also. 
Thus,  while  Jacob  Slogvig,  the  brother,  was  one  of  a 
few  to  secure  land  in  La  Salle  County  and  make  the 
beginnings  of  settlement,  Knud  became  the  means  of 
bringing  hosts  of  immigrants  from  Norway  to  re 
cruit  the  colony  and  start  it  upon  its  course  of 
growth.  In  precisely  a  similar  way  did  two  other 
brothers  become  even  more  significant  factors  in 
the  foundation  and  development  of  the  earliest  Nor 
wegian  settlement  in  Wisconsin,  namely,  that  of 
Jefferson  Prairie  in  Eock  County.  They  were  Ole 
and  Ansten  Nattestad,  who  had  emigrated  in  1837. 
Returning  to  Norway  in  1839  Ansten  Nattestad  be 
came  the  father  of  emigration  from  Numedal,  Nor 
way,  bringing  with  him  a  large  party  of  immigrants, 


58  Nelson 's  History  of  Scandinavians,  page  56. 


CAUSES  OF  EMIGRATION  85 

who  located  for  the  most  part  in  southern  Eock 
County,  Wisconsin,  and  adjacent  parts  of  the  state 
of  Illinois.  But  of  this  movement  I  shall  have  occa 
sion  to  speak  more  fully  below. 

An  equally  interesting  instance  we  have  from 
a  somewhat  later  period.  We  have  above  referred 
to  Ole  Dyrland's  testimony  of  the  effect  of  Ole  Tro- 
vatten's  letters.  After  remarking  that  many  still 
were  doubtful  of  the  advisability  of  emigrating  he 
goes  on  to  say: 

"But  then  Knud  Svalestuen  of  Vinje,  who  had  lived 
for  a  time  in  the  Muskego  Settlement,  came  home  on  a 
trip  back  to  Norway,  and  by  his  accounts  even  the  most 
hesitating  were  made  firm  in  their  faith.  Knud  came  in 
the  fall  of  1843,  and  during  the  winter  he  received  visits 
of  men  sent  out  from  various  districts  in  Telemarken,  who 
came  to  secure  reliable  information  about  the  new  coun 
try.  The  next  spring  hosts  of  intending  emigrants  left 
the  upper  mountain  districts  of  the  country.  .  .  .  Three 
emigrant  ships  left  that  year  from  Porsgrund.  On  board 
the  ship  I  left  in  there  were  two  hundred  and  eleven 
emigrants." 

The  editor  of  Billed-Magazin  gives  other  inter 
views  with  pioneers  showing  the  effect  of  Svale 
stuen 's  return  (page  293). 

Some  of  the  Norwegian  pioneers  wrote  books 
regarding  the  settlements  and  American  conditions, 
and  these,  laudatory  as  they  were,  exerted  not  a  little 
influence.  Special  mention  should  be  made  of  Ole 
Bynning,  whose  pamphlet,  Sandfaerdig  Beretning 
om  Amerika  til  Veiledning  og  Hjaelp  for  Bonde  og, 


86  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Menigmand,  skrevet  af  en  Norsk  som  kom  der  i  Juni 
Maaned,  1837.59  This  little  book  of  thirty-nine 
pages  had  not  a  little  to  do  with  the  emigration  that 
followed  to  La  Salle  County,  Illinois,  and  elsewhere. 
In  it  the  author  gives  an  intelligent  discussion  of 
thirteen  questions  regarding  America  which  he  set 
himself  to  answer.  Among  them  were:  What  is 
the  nature  of  the  country  1  What  is  the  reason  that 
so  many  people  go  there?  Is  it  not  to  be  feared 
that  the  land  will  soon  be  overpopulated  ?  In  what 
parts  are  the  Norwegian  settlements  ?  Which  is  the 
most  convenient  and  the  cheapest  route  to  them? 
What  is  the  price  of  land?  What  provision  is  there 
for  the  education  of  children?  What  language  is 
spoken  and  is  it  difficult  to  learn?  Is  there  danger 
of  disease  in  America  ?  What  kind  of  people  should 
emigrate  I 

Another  writer  of  immigration  literature  whose 
writings  were  widely  distributed  and  had  consid 
erable  influence  was  Johan  Eeinert  Eeierson.  He 
came  to  America  in  1843,  but  returned  to  Norway 
soon  after.  In  America  he  had  written  a  book,  Veivi- 
seren, 60  which  he  published  in  Norway  and  was  read 
far  and  wide.  This  book  contains  a  fund  of  infor 
mation  regarding  the  different  settlements,  as  Ra 
cine  County,  Wisconsin,  La  Salle  County,  Illinois, 
and  Lee  County,  Iowa,  and  others,  all  of  which  Eeier- 


59  True  Account  of  America  for  the  Information  and  Help  of 
Peasant  and  Commoner,  written  by  a  Norwegian  who  came  there  in 
the  month  of  June,  1837. 

60  The  Pathfinder,  a  book  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  pages. 


CAUSES  OF  EMIGRATION  87 

son  had  himself  visited.  Keierson  became  the 
founder  of  the  first  Norwegian  settlement  in  Texas 
in  1847-48. 

Of  the  events  leading  up  to  this,  Billed-Mag- 
azin  for  1870  gives  a  circumstantial  account, 
pages  58-60,  66-67,  and  75-76.  Beierson's  book 
seems  to  have  been  a  leading  factor  in  promoting 
emigration  from  Valders.  Among  the  earliest  to 
leave  this  region  were  Nils  Hanson  Fjeld  and  fam 
ily  of  South  Aurdal,  Valders,  who  emigrated  in 
1847.  He  says,  page  236  of  Billed-Magazin  for  1870, 
that  before  him  only  two  or  three  single  men  had 
gone  to  America  from  that  region.  The  "America- 
fever"  had  not  yet  taken  hold  of  the  people,  "many 
would  not  give  credence  to  mere  hearsay,  but  after  a 
while  a  couple  copies  of  Keierson 's  book  about  Texas 
came  to  the  district.  'Now  we  have  the  printed 
word  to  go  by,'  it  was  said,  and  many  of  the 
doubters  soon  were  converted  to  the  orthodox 
faith  in  the  land  of  promise  beyond  the  great 
ocean."  And  as  a  result,  many  began  to  emigrate. 
As  early  as  1848,  emigration  from  Valders  on  a 
considerable  scale  was  already  in  progress. 

I  shall  here  also  mention  Ansten  Nattestad, 
who  wrote  a  similar  book,  which  he  took  with  him 
on  his  return  to  Norway  in  1838,  and  had  printed 
there;  this  became  a  factor  operating  toward 
emigration,  especially  in  Numedal.  Reverend  J.  W. 
C.  Dietrichson's  Reise  blandt  de  norske  Emigranter 
i  de  forenede  nordamerikanske  Fristater,  Stavanger, 


88  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

1846  (124  pages),  gave  much  valuable  information 
about  the  settlements,  but  was  not  calculated  to  exert 
much  influence  toward  emigration.  The  first  three 
that  I  have  mentioned,  however,  had  an  influence 
which  we  today  can  hardly  fully  appreciate. 

Finally,  curiosity  and  the  spirit  of  adventure 
have  doubtless  prompted  some  to  cross  the  ocean. 

To  sum  up,  the  chief  influences  that  have  pro 
moted  Scandinavian  emigration  to  the  United  States 
in  the  nineteenth  century  have  been  in  the  order  of 
their  importance :  first,  the  prospect  of  material  bet 
terment  and  the  love  of  a  freer  and  more  independ 
ent  life ;  second,  letters  of  relatives  and  friends  who 
had  emigrated  to  the  United  States  and  visits  of 
these  again  to  their  native  country;  third,  the  ad 
vertising  of  agents  of  emigration;  fourth,  religious 
persecution  at  home;  fifth,  church  proselytism; 
sixth,  political  oppression;  seventh,  military  ser 
vice;  and  eighth,  the  desire  for  adventure.  Fugi 
tives  from  justice  have  been  few,  and  paupers  and 
criminals  in  the  Scandinavian  countries  are  not  sent 
out  of  the  country;  they  are  taken  care  of  by  the 
government. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Growth  of  the  Fox  River  Settlement.     The  Immi 
gration  of  1836.     Further  Personal  Sketches. 

On  page  fifty-five  above  I  spoke  of  the  advance 
troop  of  six  men  who  established  the  Fox  Eiver  Set 
tlement  in  1834.  A  list  of  those  who  followed  from 
New  York  in  1835  was  also  given.  Other  settlers 
came  in  subsequent  years,  more  and  more  now  com 
ing  directly  from  Norway  to  La  Salle  County.  The 
vicinity  of  the  present  towns  of  Norway  and  Leland, 
in  eastern  and  northern  La  Salle  County,  became 
centers  of  a  settlement,  which  later  extended  east 
into  Kendall  County  (Newark  and  Lisbon)  and  into 
Grundy  County  toward  Morris,  as  also  north  into 
DeKalb  County  (Rollo,  Sandwich),  and  northwest 
clear  into  southwestern  Lee  County  (Paw  Paw,  Sub- 
lette,  and  surrounding  region).  The  slooper,  Ole 
Olson  Hetletvedt,  had  not  come  west  with  the  first 
party.  He  lived  first  in  Kendall  and  then  went  to 
Niagara  Falls,  being  there  employed  in  a  paper  mill. 
Here  he  married  a  Miss  Chamberlain,  then  moved 
back  to  Orleans  County.  In  1839  he  and  his  wife 
went  west,  settling  in  Kendall  County.  He  bought 
land  on  the  spot  where  the  town  of  Newark  now 
stands.  He  became  well  known  as  a  lay  preacher 
of  the  Haugian  faith  in  the  Fox  River  Settlement, 
also  visiting  the  settlements  founded  soon  after  in 


90  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Wisconsin  and  in  Lee  County,  Iowa.  He  died  in 
Kendall  County  in  1849  or  1850. 61 

Iver  Waller,  who  bought  a  claim  of  Miss  Pear 
son  in  1835,  came  directly  from  Norway  to  La  Salle 
County  that  year.  Baldwin's  History  oj  La  Salle 
County  lists  Ove  Stenson  Bossadal  and  wife,  and 
John  Stenson  Eossadal  among  the  arrivals  of 
1835,  and  as  being  brothers  of  Daniel  Eossadal,  of 
whom  we  have  spoken  above.  Strand's  History  of 
the  Norwegians  in  Illinois  correctly  names  them  as 
sons  of  Daniel  Eossadal.  Nils  Bilden,  who  also 
came  during  this  period  (year  uncertain),  was  there 
fore  one  of  the  very  first  emigrants  from  Hardanger 
to  the  United  States.  He  settled  at  Bochester,  San- 
gamon  County,  Illinois. 

As  to  the  extent  of  Norwegian  immigration  dur 
ing  the  years  immediately  preceding  the  year,  1836, 
which  inaugurates  a  new  period  in  the  movement, 
our  information  is  very  fragmentary.  American 
statistics  give  forty-two  and  thirty-one,  respective 
ly,  for  1834  and  1835,  as  the  total  immigration  from 
Norway  and  Sweden.  In  1833  there  were  sixteen, 
while  the  number  for  1832  is  three  hundred  and 
thirteen.62  The  total  number  between  1826  and  1831 
is  given  as  sixty-eight.  It  is  probable,  however, 
that  these  figures  do  not  represent  the  full  number 
of  immigrants  during  these  years.  Norwegian  gov- 

61  One  of  his  sons  was  Colonel  Porter  C.  Olson  of  Civil  War  fame, 
member  of  the  Thirty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 

62  Among  those  who  came  in  1832  was  John  Nordboe  from  Gud- 
brandsdalen,  Norway. 


FOX  RIVER  SETTLEMENT  91 

eminent  statistics  on  immigration  which  are  avail 
able  since  1836,  give  the  number  of  immigrants  for 
that  year  as  two  hundred,  which  is  also  the  fig 
ure  for  the  following  year.  It  is  to  this  exodus  that 
we  shall  now  turn. 

We  have  above,  under  Causes  of  Emigration,  had 
occasion  to  speak  of  Knud  Slogvig's  return  to  Nor 
way  in  1835,  after  a  ten  years'  residence  in  Amer 
ica;  63  the  results  of  his  return  were  also  there  brief 
ly  noted.  In  the  two  ships,  Norden  and  Den  Norske 
Klippe,64  which  sailed  from  Stavanger  in  July  of 
1836,  came  two  hundred  immigrants,  65  who  located 
for  the  most  part  in  the  Fox  River  Settlement. 
These  stopped  en  route  for  a  short  time  in  Roches 
ter,  no  doubt  gathering  advice  and  information  from 
Lars  Larson,  the  captain  of  the  sloopers,  resident 
there  as  we  know;  thence  they  continued  their  jour 
ney  west  to  Chicago  and  to  La  Salle  County.  Thus 
the  nucleus  which  had  been  formed  in  1834-35  in  a 
very  short  time  developed  into  a  considerable  set 
tlement  at  a  time  when  the  surrounding  country 
was  practically  a  wilderness.  The  immigrants  of 
1836  were,  in  part,  from  Stavanger,  some,  however, 
were  from  other  districts,  east  and  north,  as  es 
pecially  Hardanger  and  Voss. 

Not  all  who  came  settled  in  Mission  and  the 


63  While  in  Norway  he  married  a  sister  of  Ole  Olson  Hetletvedt, 
which  may  have  been  in  part  the  purpose  of  his  return. 

64  The  North  and  The  Norwegian  Rock. 

65  Langeland  says  a  hundred  and  sixty  on  page  eighteen  of  his 
work,  elsewhere  a  hundred  and  fifty.     Two  hundred  seems,  however,  to 
have  been  approximately  the  number. 


92  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

later  Miller  townships,  however.  Some  went  con 
siderably  farther  north  and  established,  in  Adams 
Township,  a  northern  extension  of  the  original  settle 
ment  at  and  around  the  present  village  of  Leland. 
The  two,  however,  later  grew  together  into  one  large 
settlement,  extending  also,  east  into  Kendall  County. 
The  first  white  settler  in  Adams  Township  was  Mor- 
dicai  Disney,  who  located  there  in  1836,  slightly 
prior  to  the  coming  of  the  immigrants  from  Stavan- 
ger. 66 

The  first  of  our  immigrants  to  locate  in  Adams 
Township  where  Halvor  Nelson  and  Ole  T.  Olson, 
who  in  the  spring  of  1837,  settled  on  sections 
twenty-one  and  twenty- two ; 67  they  had  lived  in  Mis 
sion  Township  since  their  coming  in  1836.  Among 
those  who  came  in  1836  and  located  in  Mission  Town 
ship  were:  Amund  Anderson  Hornefjeld,  who  in 
1840  went  to  Wisconsin  (see  below),  Erick  Johnson 
Savig 68  and  wife,  Ingeborg,  from  Kvinherred  Par 
ish,  Knud  Olson  Hetletvedt  and  wife,  Serena  (both 
of  whom  died  of  cholera  in  1849),  Osmund  Thom- 
ason, 69  wife  and  daughter,  Anne,  Henrik  Erick- 
son  Sebbe  and  two  sons,  who  went  to  Salt  Lake 
City  in  1848  (see  above,  p.  78) .  Samuel  Peerson  and 
Helge  Vatname  also  seem  to  have  come  in  1836 ;  they 

66  Disney  left  again  in  1837. 

67  The  Olson  homestead  is  still  owned  by  the  son,  Nels  Olson. 

68  Died  in  1840,  leaving  wife  and  two  children,  John  and  Anna 
Bertha ;  the  latter  later  became  the  wife  of  John  J.  Nseset  in  the  town 
of  Christiana,  Dane  County,  Wisconsin.     Saevig  was  born  in  1803,  his 
wife  in  1809. 

69  Died  in  1876,  ninety-two  years  old. 


FOX  RIVER  SETTLEMENT  93 

are  recorded  as  living  at  Norway,  Illinois,  in  1837, 
and  as  aiding  in  bringing  some  of  the  immigrants 
of  1837  from  Chicago  to  La  Salle  County. 

Some  of  those  who  came  in  1836  did  not  go 
directly  to  La  Salle  County.  Andrew  Anderson 
(Aasen),  wife,  Olena,  three  sons  and  two  daughters, 
from  Tysvser  Parish,  Skjold,  remained  two  years  in 
Orleans  County,  New  York,  coming  to  La  Salle 
County  in  1838 ;  he  died  of  the  cholera  in  1849.  John 
Hidle  from  Stavanger  County,  Norway,  also  emi 
grated  in  1836,  coming  direct  to  La  Salle  County. 
In  1838  he  settled  at  Lisbon,  Kendall  County,  being 
thus  the  first  Norwegian  to  locate  there  and  as  far 
as  I  have  been  able  to  find  out,  the  first  Norwegian 
to  settle  in  that  county  (for  Ole  0.  Hetletvedt  did  not 
come  till  1839).  Hidle,  who  wrote  his  name  Hill  in 
this  country,  married  Susanna  Anderson,  daughter  of 
Andrew  Anderson ;  she  was  fourteen  years  old  when 
her  parents  came  to  America,  and  is  still  living,  at 
Morris,  Illinois,  with  her  daughter  Mrs.  Austin  Os 
mond.  Lars  Bo  and  Michael  Bo,  who  lived  and 
died  in  La  Salle  County,  came  when  John  Hill  did. 
Lars  Larson  Brimsoe,  born  in  Stavanger,  1812, 
worked  for  some  time  as  a  carpenter  in  New 
York  and  Chicago  before  settling  in  La  Salle 
County.  In  1858  he  located  in  Benton  County, 
Iowa,  and  in  1872  went  to  Adams  County 
(died  1873).  Bjorn  Anderson  Kvelve  and  wife, 
Catherine, 70  and  two  sons,  Arnold  Andrew  and 

70  Abel  Catherine  von  Krogh  was  born  in  1809.     Her  father  was 
Arnold  von  Krogh.     Bjorne  Anderson  Kvelve  was  born  in  1801.     For 


94  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Brunn,  from  Vikedal,  Eyfylke,  lived  for  a  year 
in  Rochester,  New  York,  came  in  1837  to  Mission 
Township,  La  Salle  County.  He  removed  to  Dane 
County,  Wisconsin,  in  1839.  Of  Lars  Tallakson,  who 
came  to  America  in  1836  (by  way  of  Gothenburg), 
we  shall  speak  below.  Herman  Aarag  Osmond, 
born  near  Stavanger,  1818,  also  came  to  America  in 
1836.  He  first  lived  in  Ohio,  came  in  1837  to  Chi 
cago,  then  to  Norway,  La  Salle  County.  He  settled 
on  a  farm  near  Norway  in  1848,  but  bought  in  1869 
a  farm  near  Newark,  Kendall  County;  Herman 
Osmond  died  in  Newark  in  1888. 

Some  of  the  immigrants  of  1836  located  in  Chi 
cago,  which  then  consisted  of  only  a  few  houses. 
Among  these  was  first,  Halstein  Torison  (or  Tor- 
ison),  to  whom  Knud  Langeland  accords  the  dis 
tinction  of  being  the  first  Norwegian  resident  of 
Chicago.  He  was  from  Fjeldberg  in  Sondhord- 
land,  and  he  came  to  Chicago  with  wife  and  chil 
dren  in  October,  1836.  The  site  of  his  home  was 
that  now  occupied  by  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern 
Depot  on  Wells  Street.  He  worked  first  as  a  gar 
dener  for  a  Mr.  Newberry.  Eeverend  Dietrichson 
speaks  of  him,  in  1844,  as  prosperous  and  as  occupy 
ing  a  leading  position  among  Chicago  Norwegians 
at  that  time.  In  1848  he  moved  to  Calumet,  twenty 


a  sketch  of  Bjorn  Anderson  and  his  wife  see  pages  155-170  of  First 
Chapter  of  Norwegian  Immigration  by  E.  B.  Anderson,  who  is  their 
third  son  (b.  1846  in  Albion,  Wisconsin)  ;  I  am  indebted  to  this  work 
for  many  facts  relative  to  the  Illinois  pioneers  of  1836-1837. 


FOX  RIVER  SETTLEMENT  95 

miles  south  of  Chicago,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death  in  1882. 

Svein  Lothe,  from  Hardanger,  also  came  in  1 836, 
as  did  Nils  Rothe  and  wife,  Torbjor,  who  were  from 
Voss.  The  latter  remained,  however,  in  Rochester, 
New  York,  one  year  before  coming  to  Chicago. 
Nils  Rothe  and  wife  were  the  first  to  emi 
grate  from  Voss,  Norway.  Johan  Larson,  from 
Kopervik,  an  island  not  far  north  of  Stav- 
anger  city,  also  located  in  Chicago  in  1836. 
He  was  a  sailor  and  had,  it  seems,  visited  Chicago 
before;  what  year  he  came  to  America,  I  do  not 
know.  I  may  also  mention  Baard  Johnson,  who, 
with  his  wife  and  five  children,  settled  in  Chicago 
in  1837.  Those  we  have  mentioned  form  the  nucleus 
out  of  which  has  grown  today  the  largest  Norwegian 
city  colony  in  this  country. 

Svein  Knutson  Lothe,  who  emigrated  with  wife 
and  two  children  from  Hardanger  in  1836,  was  from 
the  Parish  of  Ullensvang.  There  were  eleven  per 
sons  in  all  who  came  from  Ullensvang  that  year,  the 
other  seven  being:  Jon  Jonson  Aga,  wife  and  two 
children,  Torbjorn  Djonne,  Olav  Oystenson  Lofthus 
and  Omund  Helgeson  Maakestad.  Maakestad  be 
came  the  founder  of  the  Hardanger  settlement  in 
Lee  County,  Illinois  (see  below).  I  am  not  able  to 
say  where  Aga,  Djonne  or  Lofthus  located.  There 
were  also  seven  immigrants  from  Ulvik  Parish,  Har 
danger,  that  year;  they  were:  Sjur  Haaheim  and 
wife,  Paul  Dale  and  wife,  Sjur  Dale  and  wife  and 


96  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Aslak  Holven.  These  eighteen  persons  form  the 
advance  guard  of  the  immigration  from  Hardanger. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  two  ships  that  came  from 
Stavanger  in  1836.  These  were  followed  in  the  next 
year  by  Enigheden  (Harmony),  Captain  Jensen, 
carrying  ninety-three  passengers.  These  were  for 
the  most  part  from  Tysvser  and  from  Hjelmeland, 
and  Aardal  in  Eyfylke,  from  the  city  of  Stav 
anger,  and  from  Egersund.  They  came  to  New 
York,  thence  went  to  Albany  and  Eochester,  and  by 
way  of  the  lakes  to  Chicago.  Most  of  them  went  to 
La  Salle  County,  although  not  all  settled  there  per 
manently.  Among  the  passengers  were  Hans  Val- 
der  and  wife  from  Eyfylke,  Knud  Olson  Eide,  Ole 
Thompson  Eide,  from  Fogn,  near  Stavanger, 
Thomas  A.  Thompson,  Christopher  Danielson  and 
family,  Osten  Espeland  and  family,  and  Knud  Dan 
ielson  and  family. 

The  sailing  of  Enigheden  may  be  regarded  as 
a  continuation  of  the  movement  in  Stavanger  county, 
which  was  given  such  an  impetus  by  Knud  Slog- 
vig's  return  in  1835.  Other  immigrants  continued 
to  come  from  this  region  in  subsequent  years,  but 
the  autumn  of  1837  inaugurates  a  change  in  the 
course  of  the  movement  to  a  more  northerly  region, 
Hardanger,  Voss,  and  Bergen,  for  a  period,  con 
tributing  a  large  share  to  the  now  rapidly  increasing 
numbers  of  emigrants. 


CHAPTER  X 

The  Year  1837.     The  Sailing  of  Aegir. 

The  influence  of  Gjert  Hovland  in  this  new  trend 
in  the  immigration  should  be  noted.  South  Bergen- 
hus  now  became  the  scene  of  immigration  activity. 
At  the  same  time  it  is  to  be  observed  that  Hardan- 
ger  had  contributed  its  quota  of  immigrants  in  the 
exodus  of  1836.  The  return  of  Knud  Slogvig  was 
noised  far  beyond  the  County  of  Stavanger.  Among 
those  who  travelled  long  distances  to  see  and  talk 
with  Slogvig  and  get  personal  affirmation  of  what 
reports  had  told  of  America,  was  Nils  P.  Lange 
land,  a  school  teacher  from  Samnanger,  one  of  the 
emigrants  of  1837.  Similarly  Knud  Langeland  re 
lates  in  Nordmaendene  i  Amerika,  page  twenty-three, 
how  he  paid  a  visit  to  Slogvig  in  the  winter  of  1836, 
and  received  from  him  assurance  of  what  he  had 
read  71  about  the  New  World.  Knud  Langeland  gives 
a  most  interesting  account  of  how  his  interest  in 
America  became  aroused ;  though  a  personal  experi 
ence,  it  is  undoubtedly  typical  of  that  of  many  a 
young  man  in  Bergen  and  surrounding  region  at  this 
time.  As  a  document  in  immigration  history,  it  is 
sufficiently  significant  to  warrant  quoting  in  con 
siderable  part.  He  says : 

71  Especially  in  a  German  book  on  travels  in  America,  see  his 
account,  p.  21.  Knud  Langeland  did  not  emigrate,  however,  before 
1843. 


98  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

"Purely  by  accident  I  found  in  a  friend's  library  in 
Bergen  a  book  by  a  German  entitled  REISEN  IN  AMERIKA. 
.  .  .  .  As  this  book  contained  some  vivid  pictures  of 
the  distant  regions  the  traveller  had  visited,  as  well  as  of 
the  impressions  he  had  received  of  land  and  people  in  the 
new  world,  it  was  read  with  all  the  allurements  of  a  novel. 
Here  was  given  full  information  about  the  German  emigra 
tion.  With  this  description  of  travels  in  my  pocket  I  went 
early  one  summer  morning  along  the  bay  of  Solem  and  up 
the  steep  ascent  of  Lyderhorn.  Up  there  I  read  and 
dreamed  of  the  new  wonderful  world  far  away  to  the  west. 
The  mist  had  sunk  low  over  the  fjords  between  the  isles 
about  Bergen,  but  up  there  around  the  tree-tops  it  was 
bright  sunshine.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  seen  this  glo 
rious  sight  peculiar  to  mountain  regions.  If  any  prosaic 
nature  ever  received  poetic  inspiration  and  exaltation  it 
was  during  this  time,  while  my  eyes  beheld  the  sunlit  sur 
face  of  the  fog  and  in  the  distance  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
sparkling  shield  of  the  North  Sea,  which  seemed  to  rise  to 
the  height  of  the  mountain And  far  out  to 
ward  the  west,  thousands  of  miles  out  there,  lies  the  land 
about  which  I  am  reading,  lies  the  big,  still  so  little  known 
part  of  the  world,  with  its  secrets  and  its  wonders.  From 
that  time  I  sought  all  books  and  descriptions  of  travel  con 
cerning  America  which  I  could  get,  and,  together  with  an 
uncle  of  mine,  I  began  to  collect  as  much  information  about 
the  new  world,  as  well  through  books  as  through  the  verbal 
accounts  from  Stavanger  people,  which  now  began  to  be 
current  in  the  district  concerning  Kleng  Peerson's  emigra 
tion  and  return,  without  our  yet  actually  thinking  of  emi 
grating.  Through  a  kind  friend's  help  I  was  enabled  in 
1834  to  spend  six  months  in  England,  on  which  occasion 
I  gathered  a  number  of  pamphlets  and  books  about  America 


SAILING  OF  AEGIR  99 

and  emigration  from  England.  In  this  way  more  definite 
and  more  reliable  information  as  to  conditions  in  America 
and  the  journey  thither  gradually  spread  in  the  vicinity. 
This  seemed  to  discredit  the  many  ridiculous  and  impossible 
stories  now  constantly  set  in  circulation.  Slowly  but  stead 
ily  the  thought  of  emigrating  to  America  took  root;  more 
and  more  joined  the  little  group  which  now  in  earnest  be 
gan  talking  of  selling  their  homes  and  going  to  America. 
Then  it  was  that  the  bishop  of  Bergen  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
farmers  of  Bergen  on  the  text,  " Remain  in  the  country; 
make  your  living  honorably,"  whether  he  forgot  it  or  did 
not  regard  it  suitable  to  the  occasion,  he  failed  to  quote  the 
second  commandment  of  the  passage:  " Multiply  and  fill 
the  world."  The  latter  the  farmers  had  adhered  to;  most 
of  them  had  large  families,  and  since  the  land  at  home  was 
filled,  while  they  now  heard  that  a  large  part  of  the  new 
world  was  unsettled,  they  decided  to  disobey  the  bishop's 
advice  and  go  to  the  new  Canaan,  where  flowed  milk  and 
honey." 

So  far  Langeland 's  account.  While  the  evi 
dence  points  to  many  causes  as  operating  conjointly 
toward  bringing  about  the  departure,  in  the  spring 
of  1837,  of  so  many  from  Samnanger  and  from  Voss, 
the  influence  of  Nils  P.  Langeland,  already  men 
tioned  above,  seems  to  have  been  a  special  factor 
at  this  particular  time.  Nils  Langeland  was  al 
ready  then  an  elderly  man.  He  had  devoted  his 
life  to  the  cause  of  popular  education,  but  the  in 
tolerant  clergy  of  the  time  found  him  too  liberal 
minded  and  continually  put  obstacles  in  his  way. 
Although  he  was  supported  by  a  group  of  faithful 
friends,  his  usefulness  was  hampered;  discouraged 


100  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

at  last,  he  decided  to  leave  his  native  country  and 
go  to  America. 

This  was  in  the  summer  of  1836.  In  the  fall 
of  that  year,  Captain  Behrens  returned  with  the 
bark,  Aegir,  from  America,  whither  he  had  car 
ried  a  cargo  of  freight  in  the  summer.  Lange-. 
land's  friends  had  already  sold  their  homes  and  were 
preparing  to  emigrate.  Hearing  of  this,  Behrens 
decided  to  convert  his  bark  into  a  passenger  boat, 
and  he  offered  to  take  them  to  America  the  next 
spring ;  the  offer  was  accepted.  While  preparations 
were  going  on,  the  announcements  of  the  projected 
sailing,  which  had  been  printed  in  the  newspapers, 
led  intending  immigrants  from  other  sections,  also, 
to  join  the  party.  Among  these  was  Ole  Eynning, 
from  Snaasen,  in  Trondhjem  Province,  of  whom  we 
shall  speak  more  at  length  below. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1837,  Aegir  sailed  from  Ber 
gen  with  eighty-two  passengers.  Among  these  were 
Mons  Aadland,  Nils  Froland,  Anders  Nordvig,  Inge- 
brigt  Brudvig,  Thomas  Bauge  and  Thorbjorn  Veste, 
all  of  whom  had  large  families,  and  the  following 
from  Hardanger :  Nils  L.  Jordre,  wife  and  six  chil 
dren,  and  Peder  J.  Maurset,  wife  and  child,  from 
Ulvik  Parish,  and  Amund  Eosseland,  wife  and  three 
children,  Lars  G.  Skeie,  wife  and  two  children,  Sjur 
E.  Eosseland  and  Svein  L.  Midthus  from  Vikor.  The 
last-named  were  the  first  to  emigrate  from  Vikor. 
The  party  further  included  Halle  Vsete,  wife  and 
grown  daughter,  and  the  following  persons :  Odd  J. 


SAILING  OF  AEGIR  101 

Himle,  Kolbein  0.  Saue,  Styrk  0.  Saue,  Nils  L.  Bol- 
stad,  Baard  Haugen,  Jolin  H.  Bjorgo,  Ole  Dyvik,  all 
of  whom  were  married,  besides  several  single  men, 
mostly  relatives  of  the  above,  namely :  Dovig,  Bauge, 
Froland,  Nordvig,  Hisdal,  Tosseland,  et  al.  Each 
adult  paid  sixty  dollars  (Norwegian  specie)  for 
passage,  children  under  twelve  paying  half  price. 
They  arrived  in  New  York  eight  weeks  later. 
The  journey  inland  was  attended  by  numerous  ex 
penses  for  which  the  immigrants  were  not  prepared. 
When  they  had  gotten  as  far  as  Detroit,  the  above- 
mentioned  Nils  P.  Langeland  found  himself  without 
the  necessary  means  to  continue  the  journey.  His 
friends  who  had  offered  to  pay  his  expenses  as  far 
as  Chicago,  at  last  became  discouraged  over  the 
constant  demands  upon  their  funds  and  Langeland 
was  obliged  to  remain  in  Detroit.  Here,  being  a 
capable  carpenter,  he  soon  found  work;  later  he 
removed  to  Lapeer  County,  Michigan,  bought  there 
120  acres  of  land,  plying  at  the  same  time  the  trade  of 
a  carpenter.  Thus  it  came  about  that  Nils  Lange 
land  became  the  first  Norwegian  to  settle  in  the  State 
of  Michigan,  though  we  have  seen  that  Kleng  Peer- 
son  had  visited  the  state  four  years  earlier.  At  least 
three  others  of  the  immigrants  of  1837  located  tem 
porarily  in  the  State  of  Michigan  that  year,  namely, 
Ingebright  Nordvig,  Osten  Espeland,  who  had  come 
in  Enigheden,  and  Thorsten  Bjaaland.  These  went  to 
Adrian,  Lenawee  County,  but  left  again  soon 
after.  We  shall  meet  Bjaaland  again  in  La  Salle 
County,  Illinois,  and  on  Koshkonong  Prairie. 


CHAPTEE  XI 

Beaver  Creek.    Ole  Rynning* 

The  immigrants  who  came  in  the  Aegir  seem  to 
have  intended  to  settle  in  La  Salle  County,  but  in 
Chicago  were  advised  by  two  Americans  not  to  go 
there.  They  were  also  partly  influenced  by  Nor 
wegian  immigrants  72  who  were  dissatisfied  with  that 
locality,  and  who  recommended  Iroquois  County  as 
a  more  desirable  location  to  settle.  They  were  told 
that  the  Fox  Eiver  Valley  was  a  very  unhealthy 
place,  the  settlers  were  dying  of  ague  and  fever, 
and  it  was  a  misfortune  that  they  had  ever  been  in 
duced  to  locate  there.  (Knut  Langeland  also  re 
cords  the  fact  that  the  fever  raged  in  the  whole 
of  the  Fox  Eiver  Valley  from  Muskego,  in  Wisconsin, 
to  the  Mississippi  Eiver  in  Illinois,  that  summer, 
but  that  the  condition  in  La  Salle  was  no  worse  than 
elsewhere).  So  the  intending  settlers  deputed  three 
men  to  explore  the  country  for  a  site  for  a  new  col 
ony. 

These,  Ole  Eynning,  Ingebrigt  Brudvig  and 
Ole  Nattestad,73  walked  south  along  the  line  of  the 
present  Illinois  Central  Eailroad,  selecting  the  loca- 

72  Bjorn  Anderson  seems  to  have  in  part  been  instrumental  in 
their  not  going  to  La  Salle  County,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  he 
recommended  Iroquois  County  as  far  as  I  am  aware. 

73  Niels  Veste  may  also  have  been  of  the  party. 


BEAVER  CREEK  103 

tion  at  Beaver  Creek  in  Iroquois  County.  Of  the 
further  history  of  this  unfortunate  and  short  lived 
colony,  the  reader  may  find  an  account  in  Dietrich- 
son's  brief  discussion  of  the  settlement,  or  in  Lange- 
land's  or  R.  B.  Anderson's  book.  The  majority  of 
the  settlers  died  during  the  spring  in  the  low  and 
unhealthy  climate.  Ole  Eynning  himself  died  and 
lies  buried  there.  The  few  survivors  left  for  La 
Salle  County  the  following  spring.  Mons  Aadland 
refused,  however,  to  go.  He  remained  in  Beaver 
Creek  three  years  longer ;  selling  his  land  in  1840  for 
a  herd  of  cattle  and,  moving  north,  he  located  in 
Racine  County,  being  therefore  one  of  the  earliest 
pioneers  in  this  part  of  Wisconsin. 

Ole  Rynning's  name  is  most  closely  associated 
with  the  brief  history  of  the  Beaver  Creek  Settle 
ment.  We  have  already  seen  above  how  his  book, 
Sandfaerdig  Beretning  om  Amerika,  came  to  have 
a  very  far-reaching  influence  upon  Norwegian  emi 
gration.  This  book  Rynning  wrote  that  winter  in 
the  Beaver  Creek  Settlement.  It  was  printed  in 
Norway  the  next  year.  It  soon  became  widely  dis 
tributed  and  continued  for  over  a  decade  to  exert 
a  powerful  influence  upon  Norwegian  emigration 
from  Voss,  east  to  Hedemarken,  and  north  to  Gud- 
brandsdalen,  in  these  latter  provinces,  at  the  close 
of  the  decade,  especially. 

We  have,  on  page  86  above,  observed  that  Ryn 
ning  formulated  certain  questions  which  he  set  about 
answering  for  the  information  of  intending  immi- 


104  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

grants.  It  will  be  of  interest  to  note  here  the  na 
ture  of  some  of  his  answers.  The  first  question  as 
to  the  nature  of  the  country,  he  answers  by  giving 
a  very  intelligent  account  of  the  topography  and 
climate  of  the  country,  the  soil  in  the  different  parts, 
and  of  what  the  produce  of  the  different  sections 
consists.  In  answer  to  the  third  question,  he  says 
that  the  United  States  is  more  than  twenty  times 
as  large  as  Norway,  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
country  is  not  yet  even  under  cultivation,  and  that 
there  is  room  for  a  population  more  than  a  hundred 
times  as  great  as  that  of  Norway.  There  need  be 
no  fear,  he  says,  that  the  country  will  be  full  in  fifty 
years. 

The  fourth  question  as  to  where  the  Norwe 
gian  immigrants  have  located  especially,  he  an 
swers  by  saying,  that  in  New  York,  Bochester,  De 
troit,  Chicago,  Philadelphia  and  New  Orleans,  there 
are  said  to  be  individual  settlers;  but  he  mentions 
four  places  where  several  have  settled,  namely:  (1) 
Orleans  County,  New  York,  but  where,  he  says,  there 
are  now  only  twio  or  three  families  left;  (2)  La  Salle 
County,  Illinois,  where,  he  says,  there  are  about 
twenty  families;  (3)  White  County,  Indiana,  on  the 
Tippecanoe  Eiver.  ' '  Here, ' '  he  says,  live  i  i  only  two 
Norwegians  from  Drammen,  who,  together,  own 
about  eleven  hundred  acres  of  land";  (4)  Shelby 
County,  Missouri,  where  a  few  Norwegians  from 
Stavanger  settled  in  the  spring  of  1837;  (5)  Iro- 
quois  County,  Illinois.  "Here,"  he  says,  "there  are 


BEAVER  CREEK  .         105 

eleven  or  twelve  families  of  those  who  came  last 
summer. ' ' 

The  sixth  question  as  to  the  land  in  these 
localities,  he  answers  by  praising  the  beauty  and 
the  fertility  of  the  prairie.  And  as  to  the  price 
of  land,  he  says,  that  it  has  hitherto  been  $1.25  per 
acre,  but  that  he  has  heard  that  hereafter  land  is 
to  be  divided  into  three  classes  and  the  price  of  land 
of  the  third  class  is  to  be  half  a  dollar  an  acre.  He 
then  offers  explicit  directions  as  to  how  to  go  about 
securing  land.  He  thereupon  gives  the  prices  of  live 
stock  at  the  time,  and  of  produce,  etc.  A  horse,  we 
learn,  costs  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  dollars,  a  yoke 
of  oxen,  sixty  to  eighty.  A  milk  cow  with  calf, 
sixteen  to  twenty,  a  sheep,  two  to  three,  hogs  are 
six  to  ten  dollars  a  head,  pork  costs  three  to  five 
shillings  a  '  *  mark, ' '  butter  six  to  twelve,  a  barrel  of 
(wheat)  flour,  eight  to  ten  dollars ;  a  barrel  of  corn- 
meal,  two  and  a  half  to  three  dollars;  a  barrel  of 
potatoes,  one  dollar;  a  pound  of  coffee,  twenty  shil 
lings;  a  barrel  of  salt  is  five  dollars  (Norwegian). 
But  in  Wisconsin  Territory,  the  prices  are  two  to 
three  times  higher,  while  farther  south,  everything 
is  cheaper. 

Then  he  speaks  of  wages,  of  religious  con 
ditions,  law  and  order,  how  instruction  for  the 
young  is  provided,  linguistic  conditions,  health  con 
ditions.  He  discusses  life  in  the  new  settlements, 
its  trials  and  attendant  evils.  As  to  the  Indians, 
he  says:  "They  have  gone  farther  west;  one  need 


106  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

never  fear  attack  by  Indians  in  Illinois. "  In  an 
swer  to  the  question  as  to  who  should  emigrate,  he 
warns  against  unreasonable  expectations;  advises 
farmers,  mechanics  and  tradesmen  to  come,  he  who 
neither  can  nor  will  work  must  never  expect,  he  says, 
that  wealth  or  luxury  will  stand  ready  to  receive 
him.  No,  in  America  one  gets  nothing  without 
work,  but  by  work,  one  can  expect  to  attain  to  com 
fortable  circumstances.  He  thereupon  discusses  the 
question  of  the  dangers  in  crossing  the  oceans, 
which,  he  says,  are  less  than  usually  imagined,  and 
the  rumor  of  enslavement  of  the  immigrant.  The 
latter  he  brands  as  false,  adding,  "yet  it  is  true  that 
many  who  have  not  been  able  to  pay  their  passage, 
have  come  upon  such  terms  that  they  have  sold 
themselves,  or  their  service,  for  a  certain  number 
of  years  to  some  man  here  in  the  country.  Many 
are  thereby  said  to  have  come  into  bad  hands,  and 
have  not  had  it  better  than  slaves.  No  Norwegian, 
as  far  as  I  know,  has  fared  in  this  way,  nor  is  it  to 
be  feared,  if  one  crosses  by  a  Norwegian  ship,  and 
with  one's  own  countrymen."  In  conclusion,  I  shall 
cite  his  opinion  on  the  slave  trade  which  is  inter 
esting  in  the  insight  and  judgment  it  gives  evidence 
of,  on  the  part  of  an  immigrant  over  twenty  years 
before  the  war: 

The  northern  states  are  trying  in  every  congress  to 
abolish  slavery  in  the  southern  states;  but  as  these  always 
oppose  it  and  appeal  to  their  right  to  govern  their  own 
internal  affairs,  there  will  probably  soon  take  place  a  sep- 


BEAVER  CREEK  107 

aration  between  the  northern  and  the  southern  states,  or 
else  there  will  be  internal  conflict. 

Ole  Bynning  was  born  in  Bingsaker,  as  the  son 
of  Keverend  Jens  Bynning  and  wife,  Severine 
Catherine  Steen,  in  1809.  In  1825,  the  father  moved 
to  Snaasen.  Having  finished  his  education  in  1829, 
he  taught  school  for  a  time.  Then  he  bought  a  small 
farm  74  which  he  had  to  give  up  again,  not  being 
able  to  pay  for  it.  His  ultra  democratic  sympathies 
were  displeasing  to  his  conservative  father,  and  an 
unhappy  love  affair,  which  his  father  disapproved 
of  as  being  a  mesalliance,  seems,  at  least,  to  have 
been,  in  part  the  cause  of  his  leaving  Norway. 
We  have  recited,  briefly,  his  short  career  in 
America.75  Of  his  nobility  of  character  and  the  self- 
sacrificing  spirit  he  showed  in  helping  the  grief- 
stricken  and  suffering  colonists  in  the  unfortunate 
Beaver  Creek  Settlement,  in  the  spring  and  summer 
of  1838,  his  surviving  associates  give  ample  testi 
mony.  His  book,  Sandfaerdig  Beretning,  was  writ 
ten  on  the  sick-bed. 76  When  he  died,  there  was  only 
one  man  in  the  settlement  who  was  well  enough  to 
make  a  casket  for  him  from  an  old  oak  which  he 
hewed  down.  Bynning  was  buried  out  on  the 
prairie,  but  no  one  knows  now  where  the  spot  is. 

74  This  he  bought  of  the  father  of  Rev.  B.  G.  Minis,  well-known 
in   Norwegian-American   church  history,  and  a  long  time   pastor  at 
Norway,  Goodhue  County,  Minnesota. 

75  See  above  p.  103. 

76  Ansten  Nattestad,  of  whom  below,  took  it  with  him  to  Norway 
that  year  and  got  it  printed  in  Christiania. 


CHAPTER  XII 

Some  of  the  Immigrants  of  1837.     The  First  Path 
finders  from  Numedal  and  Telemarken. 

Besides  the  177  immigrants,  who  came  to  Amer 
ica  from  Stavanger  and  Bergen  in  1837,  there  was  a 
considerable  number  who  embarked  from  Gothen 
burg,  Sweden.  These  came  mostly  from  Numedal 
and  Telemarken  in  the  south  central  part  of  Norway. 

Among  the  immigrants  of  1837  were,  also,  the 
brothers,  Ole  and  Ansten  Nattestad,  from  Vaegli, 
Numedal,  both  of  whom  came  via  Gothenburg,  and 
Hans  Barlien,  who  emigrated  with  Enigheden. 
These  men  played  such  a  part  in  the  immigration 
history  of  the  period  as  to  deserve  something  more 
than  a  mere  mention. 

Ansten  Nattestad  may  be  regarded  as  the  father 
of  the  emigration  movement  from  Numedal,  Norway, 
from  which  some  of  the  most  successful  Norwegian 
settlements  in  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  Iowa,  were 
later  recruited.  His  brother,  Ole  Nattestad,  became 
the  founder  of  one  of  these  settlements,  that  of 
Jefferson  Prairie,  in  Eock  County,  Wisconsin  (also 
extending  into  Illinois) ;  while  Hans  Barlien  found 
ed  the  first  Norwegian  settlement  in  Iowa,  at  Sugar 
Creek,  Lee  County.  Of  the  circumstances  which  led 
to  the  emigration  of  the  Nattestad  brothers,  an  in 
teresting  account  appears  in  Bitted-Magazin,  1869, 


THE  FIRST  PATHFINDERS  109 

pages  82-83.  This,  which  is  an  interview  with  Ole 
Nattestad,  has  been  reprinted  in  other  works  and  I 
shall  not  take  the  space  for  it  here.  We  may  note, 
however,  that  they  had  received  their  first  news  of 
America  upon  a  journey  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Stavanger  in  the  close  of  1836.  During  Christmas  of 
that  year,  they  were  the  guests  of  Even  Nubbru  in 
Sigdal,  a  member  of  the  Storthing,  and  it  was  his 
praise  of  American  laws  which  first  aroused  Ole 
Nattestad 's  desire  to  emigrate,  as  he  had  already 
had  some  unpleasant  experiences  in  that  respect. 
In  April,  1837,  they  stood  ready  to  leave  for 
America,  having  converted  their  possessions  into 
cash,  a  sum  of  eight  hundred  dollars.  They  went 
on  skis  from  Rollaug  to  Tin,  over  the  mountains 
and  through  the  forests  to  Stavanger.  Halsten 
Halvorson  Braekke-Eiet,  also  from  Rollaug,  be 
came  a  third  member  of  the  party.  In  Stavanger, 
local  official  hostility  to  emigration  led  them  into 
difficulties,  and  they  were  forced  to  seek  safety  in 
flight  by  night.  They  went  to  Tananger,  where  they 
were  more  successful,  a  skipper  contracting  to  take 
them  in  his  yacht  to  Gothenburg.  In  Gothenburg, 
they  secured  passage  with  a  ship  which  carried  iron 
from  Sweden  to  Fall  River,  Massachusetts.  The 
journey  lasted  thirty-two  days.  Thence,  they  went 
to  New  York,  where  they  met  a  few  Norwegians,  and 
thence  again  to  Rochester.  Here  they  spoke  with 
several  members  of  the  sloop  party  of  1825,  now  liv 
ing  in  Rochester,  and  they  were,  for  a  short  time,  the 
guests  of  Lars  Olson,  as  so  many  others  of  the  immi- 


110  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

grants  of  those  years.  Hearing  that  those  who  had 
come  to  America  in  1836  had  gone  west  to  La  Salle 
County,  they  decided  to  go  there.  In  Detroit,  Ole 
Nattestad  was  one  day  walking  about  to  view  the 
city,  and  he  says: 

Here  I  accidentally  came  upon  a  man,  whom  I  imme 
diately  recognized  by  his  clothes  as  a  countryman  from  the 
western  coast  of  Norway.  I  greeted  the  man,  and  the  meet 
ing  was  for  us  both  as  if  two  brothers  had  met  after  a  long 
separation. 

This  man  was  one  of  the  passengers  on  the 
Aegir,  who  had  just  then  arrived  in  Detroit.  The 
Nattestad  party  now  joined  these,  all  (except  N.  P. 
Langeland  and  family,  as  we  have  seen,  page  102 
above),  going  west  to  Chicago.  Here  they  met 
Bjorn  Anderson  Kvelve,  whose  unfavorable  account 
of  the  Fox  Eiver  locality  first  gave  them  some  doubt 
as  to  the  wisdom  of  going  there.  Of  the  subse 
quent  events,  the  reader  has  already  been  told.  We 
shall  meet  again  with  both  Ole  and  Ansten  Natte 
stad  below.  Halsten  Braekke-Eiet  later  settled  in 
Dodgeville,  Wisconsin. 

Hans  Barlien  was  from  Overgaarden,  Trond- 
hjem;  he  seems  to  have  been  the  second  emigrant 
to  America  from  that  region.  Of  him  there  will  be 
occasion  to  speak  more  in  detail  in  connection  with 
the  first  Norwegian  settlement  in  Iowa.  I  desire, 
here,  however,  to  mention  five  others,  who  came  via 
Gothenburg  to  America  in  the  same  year,  namely, 
Erick  Gauteson  Midboen,  Thore  Kittilson  Svimbil, 
and  John  Nelson  Eue,  who  had  large  families,  and 


THE  FIRST  PATHFINDERS  111 

two  single  men,  Gunder  Gauteson  Midboen  and 
Torsten  Ingebrigtson  Gulliksrud.  These  form  the 
advance  troupe  of  emigrants  from  the  Parish  of  Tin 
in  Upper  Telemarken,  a  region  which  furnished  a 
large  share  of  recruits  for  the  pioneer  colonies  of 
Wisconsin  and  Iowa  in  the  forties  and  the  fifties. 
Thore  Svimbil  became  a  pioneer  in  Blue  Mounds, 
Dane  County,  where  we  shall  find  him  later.  Erik 
Gauteson  Midboen,  who  had  a  large  family,  settled 
in  La  Salle  County,  but,  says  our  authority,  "for 
tune  was  not  kind  to  him."  He  later  joined  the 
Latter  Day  Saints  and  undertook  a  journey  to  Nor 
way  as  a  representative  of  that  church,  returned  to 
America  and  died  soon  after,  about  1850,  as  near 
as  I  can  ascertain.  Torsten  Gulliksrud  also  settled 
in  Illinois,  but  died  early.  John  Nelson  Kue  will 
appear  later  in  our  account  as  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  earliest  Norwegian  settlement  in  Winneshiek 
County,  Iowa. 

We  do  not  know  what  the  circumstances  were 
that  led  to  the  emigration  of  this  little  group  from 
Upper  Telemarken  in  1837.  It  seems  not  unlikely 
that  the  news  of  America  had  come  to  them  through 
copies  of  letters  from  Hovland  or  others,  though 
they  may  also  have  had  information  more  directly 
through  Knud  Slogvig's  return.  The  latter  does 
not  to  me  seem  so  likely,  however,  for  they  appear  to 
have  made  no  attempt  to  secure  passage  from  Sta- 
vanger.  The  departure  of  this  group  from  Tin 
does  not  seem  to  have  had  any  immediate  influ- 


112  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

ence  upon  emigration  from  that  region.  The 
real  exodus  from  Tin  does  not  begin  till  1839, 
and  then  as  a  part  of  the  general  movement, 
but  this  may  have  been  aided  by  letters  from 
those  who  went  thence  in  1837.  The  number 
that  in  this  way  took  passage  via  Gothenburg 
that  year  may  have  been  larger  than  we  have 
knowledge  of.  "While  the  number,  two  hundred, 
which  our  statistics,  cited  above,  gives  as  that  of 
the  emigration  from  Norway  in  1837  is  certainly 
rather  low,  it  is  highly  improbable  that  it  was  as 
high  as  three  hundred,  as  elsewhere  given.  A  con 
servative  and  reasonable  estimate  would  seem  to 
place  it  at  about  two  hundred  and  forty  or  fifty. 

Among  the  passengers  on  the  Aegir,  we  men 
tioned  Nils  Froland.  He  was  one  of  two,  the  other 
being  Mons  Aadland,  to  first  join  Nils  P.  Langeland 
in  his  preparations  for  emigrating  to  America. 
With  his  wife  and  children,  he  located  at  Beaver 
Creek,  and  they  were  among  the  fortunate  survivors 
of  that  colony.  In  1839,  he  moved  to  Mission  Town 
ship  in  La  Salle  County,  and  to  the  present  Miller 
Township  the  next  year.  He  died  there  in  1873.  His 
widow  (born  1798)  was  still  living  in  1895.  A 
grandson,  Lars  Fruland,  resides  at  Newark,  Illinois. 

Anders  Nordvig,  who  also  came  on  the  Aegir, 
died  in  the  Beaver  Creek  Settlement.  His  widow, 
a  sister  of  Knud  Langeland,  moved  to  La  Salle 
County ;  she  died  there  at  the  age  of  ninety  in  1892. 
A  daughter,  Malinda,  married  Iver  Lawson  (Iver 


THE  FIRST  PATHFINDERS  113 

Larson  Bo),  who  came  to  Chicago  from  Voss,  Nor 
way,  in  1844.  Victor  F.  Lawson,  owner  of  The  Chica 
go  News,  is  her  son.  Another  daughter,  Sarah  (born 
1824),  married  a  Mr.  Darnell,  a  pioneer  of  Benton 
County,  Iowa,  in  1854.  Mrs.  Darnell  was  the  first 
Norwegian  in  that  county.  After  Darnell's  death, 
she  returned  to  Illinois,  locating  at  Sandwich,  De 
Kalb  County. 

Among  the  passengers  on  Aegir,  Odd  Himle, 
Baard  Haugen,  Ole  Dyvik  and  John  Bjorgo  went 
direct  to  La  Salle  County.  The  first  of  these  re 
turned  to  Norway  in  1844,  and,  while  there,  married 
Marie  L.  Jermo;  he  returned  to  America  in  1845, 
and  settled  on  Spring  Prairie  in  Columbia  County, 
Wisconsin,  where  we  shall  meet  with  him  again.  He 
died  in  De  Forest,  Dane  County,  Wisconsin,  in  May, 
1893.  We  shall  also  meet  John  Bjorgo  below  as  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  Koshkonong,  Wisconsin.  Halle 
Vaete  died  in  Beaver  Creek,  as  did  his  wife  and 
grown-up  daughter.  Kolbein  Saue  and  Styrk  Saue 
both  went  to  Beaver  Creek  and  were  among  the  sur 
vivors;  they  came  to  Koshkonong  in  1843  and  are 
to  be  remembered  among  the  early  pioneers  there. 
Styrk  Saue  was  born  in  Voss,  September  twenty- 
fifth,  1814;  his  wife,  Ellen  Olson  (born  Rekve),  was 
born  in  1816.  They  were  married  in  America.  Nils 
Bolstad  settled  in  Koshkonong  in  1840.  He  was  one 
of  a  group  of  three  to  visit  Dane  County,  Wisconsin, 
on  a  trip  of  exploration  in  the  fall  of  1839,  being, 
therefore,  the  first  Norwegians  in  that  county. 


114  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Among  the  passengers  on  Enigheden  was  Hans 
Valder  and  wife.  He  was  born  on  the  farm,  Vaelde, 
in  Vats  Parish  in  Eyfylke  in  1813.  Having  re 
ceived  an  education  he  taught  school  in  Tysvaer 
some  years  before  emigrating.  Here  he  heard 
much  about  the  earliest  emigration  to  America 
from  Stavanger.  In  Detroit,  Valder  and  Osten 
Espeland  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  party 
and  went  to  Adrian,  Michigan.  Thence  they 
went  a  few  miles  into  the  country  in  Lenawee 
County  to  visit  a  small  Norwegian  settlement, 
whither  Ingebrigt  Larson  Narvig  had  recently 
moved  from  Monroe  County,  where  he  had  settled 
in  1833. 77  In  the  spring  of  1838  Valder  left  for 
La  Salle  County,  Illinois.  Here  he  lived  until  1853, 
when  he  moved  to  what  is  at  present  Newburg,  Fill- 
more  County,  Minnesota,  and  became  one  of  the 
earliest  Norwegian  pioneers  in  Minnesota.  Osten 
Espeland  and  family  remained  at  the  home  of  Nar 
vig  a  little  longer  than  Valder,  but  then  they  also 
went  to  La  Salle  County. 

Another  passenger  on  Enigheden  was  Christo 
pher  Danielson  from  Aardal,  in  Lower  Eyfylke. 
He  was  fifty- seven  years  old  at  the  time  of 
emigrating,  settled  in  Mission  Township,  La  Salle 
County,  where  his  wife  died  a  few  years  later. 
Danielson  died  of  the  cholera  in  1849.  His  son, 
Christopher  Danielson  (born  in  Norway),  resides 
at  Sheridan,  Illinois.  Thomas  A.  Thompson,  born 

77  See  above,  page  101,  for  the  circumstances  of  Narvig 's  coming 
to  Michigan. 


THE  FIRST  PATHFINDERS  115 

1812  in  Skjold  Parish,  Eyfylke,  settled  in  Nor 
way,  La  Salle  County,  Illinois.  In  1867  he  removed 
to  Adams  County,  Iowa,  where  he  died  in  1870. 
Lars  Richolson  and  wife  also  came  in  1837,  and 
settled  near  Ottawa  in  La  Salle  County.  Lars 
Eicholson,  as,  indeed,  several  of  the  pioneers 
of  these  years,  soon  became  one  of  the  substantial 
men  of  the  community.78  Ole  Heier,  who  also  came 
in  1837,  from  Tin,  Telemarken,  located  in  La  Salle 
County.  He  had  been  an  ardent  Haugian,  but  be 
came  a  Mormon  in  Illinois,  and  later  a  Baptist.  In 
1868  he  moved  to  Iowa,  where  he  died  in  1873.  A 
son,  A.  Hayer,  lives  in  Leland,  Illinois.  Finally 
there  came  that  year  Even  Askvig  with  wife  and 
children  from  Hjelmeland  Parish  in  Ryfylke.  Set 
tling  first  in  Indiana  (Beaver  Creek)  they  removed 
the  next  year  to  La  Salle  County,  Illinois.  Late  in 
the  forties  they  settled  in  Texas  and  at  last  in  1852 
the  parents  and  a  part  of  the  family  located  in  south 
western  Iowa,  where  Even  Askvig  died  in  1875  and 
his  wife  in  1881. 


78  Attorney  Samuel  Richolson,  of  Ottawa,  who  died  in  1906,  was 
a  son  of  Lars  Richolson.  He  was  born  March  twenty-fifth,  1841,  on 
the  homestead  bought  by  his  father  in  1837-38.  He  was  for  a  long 
time  member  of  the  firm,  Boyle  and  Kicholson,  in  Ottawa,  was  mayor 
of  Ottawa  from  1871-1881,  at  one  time  attorney  for  the  Chicago,  Bur 
lington  and  Quincy  railroad.  His  widow,  Marietta  Richolson,  and 
two  children  are  still  living. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Ansten  Nattestad's  Return  to  Norway  in  1838.     The 
Year  1839.    Immigration  Assumes  Larger 
Proportions.     The  Course  of  Set 
tlement  Changes. 

The  principal  event  in  Norwegian  immigration 
history  for  the  year,  1838,  is  Ansten  Nattestad's 
return  to  Norway.  We  have  seen,  above,  page  103, 
that  Ole  and  Ansten  Nattestad  left  the  Beaver 
Creek  settlement  in  the  spring  of  1838.  Ansten 
went  to  Norway,  as  it  seems,  for  the  express  pur 
pose  of  promoting  emigration  from  Eollaug,  Nume- 
dal,  while  Ole  went  out  to  explore  new  fields.  Go 
ing  north  as  far  as  the  "Wisconsin  line  he  stopped  in 
what  is  now  Clinton  Township  in  Rock  County. 
This  place  suited  his  fancy  and  he  decided  to  settle 
here. 

This  was  July  first. 79  He  entered  a  claim  of 
eighty  acres  and  immediately  set  to  work  erecting 
temporary  quarters.  For  a  year  he  lived  alone, 
rarely  coming  in  contact  with  a  white  man,  and  not 
seeing  anything  of  his  own  countrymen  during  all 
that  time.  " Eight  Americans,"  he  says,  "had 
settled  in  the  town  before  me,  but  these  also  lived 
in  about  as  lonely  and  desolate  a  condition  as  I. 

79  According  to  Ole  Natteetad's  letter  in  Nordlyset  for  May 
eighteenth,  1848. 


ANSTEN  NATTESTAD'S  RETURN     117 

I  found  the  soil  especially  fruitful  and  the  melan 
choly  uniformity  of  the  prairie  was  relieved  here  hy 
intervening  bits  of  woods.  Flocks  of  deer  and 
other  game  were  to  be  seen  daily,  and  the  uncanny 
howling  of  the  prairie  wolf  constantly  disturbed  my 
night  rest,  until  the  habit  fortified  my  ears  against 
disturbances  of  this  kind."  The  following  summer, 
Ole  built  a  cabin  in  which  he  received,  as  we  shall 
see  below,  the  first  group  of  immigrants  into  that 
country  in  the  early  fall  of  that  year. 

The  year  1838  brought  a  small  contingent  of 
emigrants  from  Voss.  They  were  Steffen  K.  Gil- 
derhus,  Knud  Lydvo,  Ole  Lydvo  and  Lars  Gjer- 
stad.80  Gilderhus  went  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  being,  I 
believe,  the  first  Norwegian  to  locate  there;  he  re 
mained  there  only  one  year,  however,  going  to  Chi 
cago  in  1839.  We  shall  later  find  him  among  the 
pioneers  of  Koshkonong,  Dane  County,  Wisconsin. 
Knud  and  Ole  Lydvo  and  Lars  Gjerstad  went  to  La 
Salle  County,  Illinois,  and  thence  to  Shelby  County, 
Missouri,  where  the  restless  Kleng  Peerson  had  the 
year  before  gone  in  search  of  a  new  locality  for  a 
settlement  in  the  southwest  (see  below). 

Before  passing  on  to  the  emigration  of  1839,  it 
will  be  in  order  to  speak  briefly  of  a  small  group  or 
emigrants  from  Numedal  in  the  year  1838.  The 
name  of  the  leader  was  Ole  Aasland,  a  wealthy  far 
mer  of  Flesberg  Parish.  He  sold  out  his  farm 
and,  taking  with  him  his  family  and  about  twenty 

80  As  brought  out  by  Nils  A.  Lie  of  Deerfield,  Wisconsin. 


118  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

other  persons,  whose  passage  he  paid  for,  he  sailed 
from  Tonsberg,  via  Gothenburg,  and  thence  to  New 
York.  He  then  went  to  Orleans  County,  New 
York.81  Here  it  seems  he  fell  into  the  hands  of 
speculators,  who  sold  him  six  hundred  acres  of 
marsh  land  in  Noble  County,  Indiana,  for  a  very  high 
price.  He  removed  to  that  place  soon  after,  it 
seems,  with  most  of  those  whom  he  had  brought  from 
Norway.  Sickness  set  in,  brought  on  by  the  swamp 
iness  of  the  region,  and  many  of  his  party  died. 
He  thereupon  (next  year)  abandoned  the  land,  tak 
ing  with  him  the  survivors.  In  the  Kendall  Settle 
ment,  Andrew  J.  Stangeland  bought  the  land  of 
him  for  a  nominal  price. 82  Aasland,  who  changed 
his  name  in  this  country  to  Orsland,  lived  on  the 
so-called  Norwegian  Eoad  in  Kendall,  till  his  death, 
about  1864.  In  Kendall,  he  accumulated  consider 
able  property.  He  left  a  wife  and  four  children, 
Canute  Orsland,  and  Harry  B.  Orsland  (born  1828 
in  Kendall),  the  former  occupying  the  old  homestead 
as  late  as  1895,  and  Hallock  Orsland  living  in 
Detroit,  where  a  daughter  is  also  living.  Let  us 
now  turn  to  Ansten  Nattestad's  journey. 

According  to  Nattestad's  own  account  he  went 
back  to  Norway  in  the  spring  of  1838  via  New  Or 
leans  and  Liverpool.  In  Drammen  he  had  printed 
his  brother's  journal,  En  Dagbog,  and  Bynning's 

81  The  Kendall  Settlement. 

82  Aasland   did   not  take  anything  for  it,   says  Canute   Orsland 
in  letter  of  1895  to  R.  B.  Anderson;  letter  is  printed  on  page  265  of 
First  Chapter. 


ANSTEN  NATTESTAD'S   RETURN  119 

book  was  printed  in  Christiania.  He  speaks  of  the 
great  interest  that  these  pamphlets  aroused  as  well 
as  that  of  his  own  return.  He  says: 

"The  report  of  my  return  spread  like  wild  fire 
throughout  the  country,  and  an  incredibly  large  number 
of  people  came  to  me  to  get  news  from  America.  Many 
even  travelled  eighteen  to  twenty  Norwegian  miles  to 
speak  with  me.  It  was  impossible  to  answer  all  the  let 
ters  that  came  with  reference  to  conditions  across  the 
ocean.  In  the  spring  of  1839  about  one  hundred  persons 
stood  ready  to  go  with  me  across  the  ocean.  Among  these 
were  many  farmers  with  families,  all  except  the  children 
able  to  work  and  in  their  best  years." 

There  were,  moreover,  a  host  of  people  from 
Telemarken  and  Numedal,  who  could  not  accompany 
him,  as  there  was  no  more  room  in  the  ship. 

In  the  meantime  these  people  from  Telemark 
en,  not  to  be  deterred  long  in  their  plans  to  go  to 
the  New  World,  immediately  set  about  organ 
izing  their  party  and  went  to  Skien  to  seek  passage 
there.  They  were  all  from  Tin  and  Hjertdal  par 
ishes  in  Upper  Telemarken.  The  leaders  of  the 
party  were  the  Luraas  family,  which  was  repre 
sented  by  four  heads  of  families,  in  all  about  twenty 
persons  of  the  total  number  of  forty,  composed  al 
most  exclusively  of  grown  men  and  women.  They 
embarked  at  Skien,  May  seventeenth,  somewhat 
earlier  than  the  party  from  Numedal  and  arrived  in 
America  before,  hence  it  is  to  this  group  that  we 
shall  now  turn  our  attention,  leaving  for  the  time 
being  Nattestad  and  his  party.  The  Luraas  party 


120  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

was  in  all  composed  of  eleven  families,  most  of 
thejn  being  from  Tin  Parish.    We  have  already, 
er  Causes  of  Emigration,  spoken  briefly  of  John 
iuraas,  who  perhaps  was  the  chief  promoter  of  this 
emigration. 

The  party  consisted  of  John  Nelson  Luraas, 
Knut  Nelson  Luraas,  Halvor  Ostenson  Luraas,  Tor- 
ger  Ostenson  Luraas,  Halvor  T.  Lonflok,  Halvor 
Nelson  Lohner,  Helge  Mathieson,  Ole  Hellikson 
Kroken,  Osten  Mollerflaten,  Ole  Kjonaas,  Nils  John 
son  Kaasa,  and  the  latter 's  brother,  Gjermund 
Johnson  Kaasa,  all  of  whom  had  families,  be 
sides  three  unmarried  men,  namely,  Nils,  Ole 
and  John  Tollefsjord.  The  Kaasa  brothers  were 
from  Hiterdal;  the  rest  I  believe  were  all  from 
Tin  Parish.  In  Gothenburg  they  met  another  small 
company  of  Norwegian  emigrants,  who  had  just 
arrived  there  from  Stavanger,  bound  for  Amer 
ica.  This  party  included  Gitle  Danielson,  the 
leader  of  the  party,  from  the  island  of  Eenneso, 
a  little  north  of  Stavanger,  and  who  had  a  large 
family,  Halvor  Jellarviken,  with  family,  and  Peder 
Rosoino,  both  with  families,  Erik  Svinalie  and 
sister;  the  party  also  included  John  Evenson 
Molee  from  Tin  in  Telemarken,  who  was  at 
that  time  in  the  service  of  Gitle  Danielson.  In  all 
there  were  now  about  sixty.  The  journey  across 
the  Atlantic  took  nine  weeks  and  the  journey  from 
Boston  to  Milwaukee  took  another  three  weeks.  The 
latter  led  by  way  of  New  York  and  then  by  canal 


ANSTEN  NATTESTAD'S  EETURN  121 

boats,  pulled  by  horses,  to  Buffalo ;  thence  by  way  of 
the  Great  Lakes  to  Milwaukee,  the  most  common 
westward  route  for  the  early  immigrants.  This  was 
at  the  close  of  August.  It  was  the  intention  of  the 
emigrants  to  settle  in  La  Salle  County,  Illinois ;  but 
in  Milwaukee  they  were  induced  to  remain  in  Wis 
consin,  and  a  site  for  a  settlement  was  selected  near 
Lake  Muskego  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Waukesha 
County,  about  twenty  miles  southwest  from  Milwau 
kee. 

A  story  is  told  how  it  came  about  that  they 
did  not  go  to  Illinois  as  originally  intended.  A 
good-natured  fat  man  is  said  to  have  been  pointed 
out  to  them  as  the  product  of  Wisconsin.  On  the 
other  hand  Illinois  was  described  as  a  hot  and  un 
healthy  region  in  substantiation  of  which  a  pale,  sick 
ly  man  was  presented  as  the  result  of  life  in  that 
state.  Whether  this  was  done  or  not  I  do  not  know ; 
but  the  story  may  serve  as  an  illustration  of  frontier 
humor  and  immigrant  credulity  both. 

Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  people  of  Milwaukee  suc 
ceeded  in  diverting  the  immigrants  from  Telemark- 
en  from  going  any  farther,  but  selected  a  site  for 
a  settlement,  as  we  have  said,  near  Lake  Muskego  in 
Waukesha  County.  Then  they  returned  to  Milwau 
kee  to  perfect  their  purchase  of  land  there,  the  price 
paid  being  the  usual  one  of  a  dollar  and  twenty-five 
cents  per  acre. 

Before  reciting  further  the  fortunes  of  this 
group  of  immigrants,  the  first  to  enter  the  State  of 


122  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Wisconsin,  let  us  turn  for  a  moment  to  a  consid 
eration  of  the  larger  movement.  With  the  year 
1839,  emigration  from  Norway  begins  to  assume 
larger  proportions,  and  certain  districts,  which  hith 
erto  had  sent  very  few,  now  begin  to  contribute  the 
larger  share  of  the  number  of  emigrants  to  Amer 
ica.  This  year  may  very  properly  be  said  to  have 
inaugurated  the  second  period  in  Norwegian  immi 
gration  history.  Down  to  1839  the  immigration 
movement  in  Norway  had  not  really  gone  beyond 
the  provinces  of  Stavanger  and  South  Bergenhus 
in  southwestern  and  western  Norway.  Indeed,  near 
ly  all  of  the  emigrants  had  come  from  these  sections. 
In  fact,  before  1836  the  movement  was  almost  con 
fined  to  Stavanger  and  Eyfylke.  In  that  year  it 
reaches  Hardanger,  and  in  1837,  Bergen.  It  does 
not  reach  Voss  properly  before  1838,  although  Nils 
Rothe  and  wife  had  emigrated  from  there  in  1836. 
In  1837,  as  we  have  seen,  the  first  emigrant  ship, 
the  Aegir,  left  Bergen  with  eighty-four  passengers. 
Before  1839  we  meet  with  occasional  individual  emi 
gration  from  provinces  to  the  east  and  northeast. 
Thus  Ole  Rynning  and  Snaasen  in  Trondhjem  Dio 
cese  emigrated  in  the  Aegir  in  1837.  The  first  emi 
grants  from  Telemarken  also  came  in  1837.  As  we 
have  seen  above,  1837  is  also  the  year  which  records 
the  first  immigration  from  Numedal.  Among  the 
emigrants  from  other  parts  of  Norway  prior  to 
1837  must  be  mentioned  also  Johan  Nordboe,  from 
Ringebo  in  Guldbrandsdalen,  who  came  in  1832  and 


ANSTEN  NATTESTAD'S  RETURN  123 

resided  for  some  time  in  Kendall,  New  York,  later 
going  to  Texas,  and  Hans  Barlien  from  Trondhjem 
County,  who  came  to  La  Salle  County  in  1837. 
Neither  of  these  two  men,  however,  were  instrument 
al  in  bringing  about  any  emigration  movement  in 
Gudbrandsdalen  and  Trondhjem.  It  is  not  until  a 
much  later  period  that  these  two  districts  are  rep 
resented  in  considerable  numbers  among  emigrants. 
It  is  the  year  1839  in  which  emigration  on  a 
larger  scale  takes  its  beginnings.  Similarly,  the 
year  1839  marks  a  change  also  in  the  movement  of 
the  course  of  settlement.  Down  to  this  time  all 
emigration  from  Norway  stands  in  direct  relation 
to  the  movement  which  began  in  Stavanger  in  1825, 
and  which  in  the  years  1834-36  resulted  in  the  forma 
tion  of  the  Fox  River  Settlement  in  La  Salle  County, 
Illinois.  This  settlement  then  became  the  center  of 
dispersion  for  what  may  be  called  the  southern  line 
of  settlements.  All  through  the  forties  and  the  fif 
ties  the  southern  course  of  migration  westward, 
which  includes  southern  and  central  Iowa,  stands  in 
direct  relation  to  early  Norwegian  colonization  in 
New  York  and  Illinois,  —  that  is  the  first  period  of 
Norwegian  emigration  from  the  provinces  of  Stav 
anger  and  South  Bergenhus  (and  this  province  only 
as  far  north  as  Bergen,  Voss  being  excluded)  in 
Southwestern  Norway.  In  1839  the  first  settlements 
are  formed  in  Wisconsin  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Mus- 
kego  in  Waukesha  County,  and  in  Bock  County ;  and 
in  1839-40  that  of  Koshkonong  in  Dane  and  Jeffer- 


124  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

son  Counties.  These  settlements  then  became  a 
northern  point  of  dispersion.  From  here  we  have 
a  second  northern  line  of  settlement  westward  and 
northwestward  into  Northern  Iowa,  Minnesota,  and 
the  more  northerly  localities  of  Wisconsin. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Shelby  County,  Missouri.    Ansten  Nattestad's  Re- 

turn  from  Norway  in  1839.     The  Founding  of 

the  Jefferson  Prairie  Settlement  in  Rock 

County,  Wisconsin 

Before  returning  now  to  the  thread  of  our  nar 
rative,  I  wish  to  speak  briefly  of  an  early  effort,  and 
the  only  one,  before  the  fifties,  to  found  a  settlement 
from  the  southern  point  of  dispersion. 

In  1837  Kleng  Peerson,  Jacob  and  Knud  Slog- 
vig,  Andrew  Askeland,  Andrew  Simonson,  Thorstein 
Thorson  Rue,  several  of  whom  had  families,  and 
about  eight  others,  left  La  Salle  County,  went  to 
Missouri  and  made  a  settlement  in  Shelby  County; 
this,  however,  proved  unsuccessful,  principally  on 
account  of  the  lack  of  a  market. 

Peerson  does  not  seem  to  have  selected  a  very 
desirable  locality,  and  he  did  not  possess  the  stead 
fastness  of  purpose  that  would  seem  to  be  a  prime 
requisite  in  the  pioneer.  He  was  too  much  of  a 
lover  of  adventure,  and  hardly  was  a  plan  brought  to 
completion  before  his  head  was  again  full  of  new 
dreams  and  fancies. 

He  was  something  of  a  Peer  Gynt  but  without 
Peer  Gynt's  selfishness  or  his  eye  for  the  main 
chance ;  the  roving  spirit  dominated  Peerson  wholly ; 
not  until  old  age  had  laid  its  hand  on  him  did  he 


126  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

yield  to  the  monotony  of  a  settled  life ;  but  even  then 
in  the  wilderness  of  Texas  in  the  fifties.  I  have 
personal  information  of  his  life  there;  he  took  no 
part  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  community,  no  active 
interest  in  its  progress.  In  a  settled  community  he 
alone  was  unsettled;  he  was  never  able  to  gather 
himself  together  into  concentrated  action  and  pro 
longed  effort  in  a  definite  cause  or  undertaking.  A 
vagabond  citizen,  he  died  in  poverty.  The  only  ac 
tivity  we  associate  with  his  name  is  the  adventurous 
wanderings  of  his  youth. 

After  having  spent  a  year  in  Missouri  Peer- 
son  returned  to  Norway,  evidently  for  the  pur 
pose  of  recruiting  his  colony,  but  I  have  no  evidence 
that  he  succeeded  in  this.  Independent  of  Peer- 
son's  efforts,  the  little  colony  did  receive  an  acces 
sion  of  three  in  1838,  namely,  Knud  and  Ole  Lydvo 
and  Lars  Gj  erst  ad,  and  of  one  person  in  the  fall  of 
1839,  namely,  Nils  Lydvo,  who  had  just  come  from 
Voss,  Norway,  with  a  group  of  immigrants  from 
that  region,  most  of  whom  remained  in  Chicago. 
The  Shelby  County  settlement  did  not  thrive.  It 
was  too  far  removed  from  other  settlers,  too  far 
from  a  market;  the  settlers  suffered  want  and  be^ 
came  discouraged.  The  colony  was  practically 
broken  up  in  1840,  when  most  of  the  settlers  removed 
north  into  Iowa  Territory  into  what  is  now  Lee 
County.  Here  they  established  the  first  Norwegian 
settlement  in  Iowa.  Of  this  we  shall  have  occasion 
to  speak  under  the  year  1840.  Let  us  now  return 


SHELBY  COUNTY,  MISSOURI  127 

to  Ansten  Nattestad  and  his  party  of  emigrants, 
whom  we  left  above,  page  119,  as  about  to  depart  for 
America. 

Ansten  Nattestad 's  party  of  one  hundred  then 
sailed  from  Drammen  by  the  Emelia,  Captain  Anker- 
son,  late  in  the  spring  of  1839.  It  was  the  first  time, 
says  he,  that  the  people  of  Drammen  had  seen  an 
emigrant  ship.  Every  person  paid  thirty-three  dol 
lars  and  a  half  (specie) ;  they  were  nine  weeks  on 
the  ocean,  going  direct  to  New  York.  They  took 
the  usual  route  inland  and  arrived  in  Milwaukee 
just  at  the  time  when  the  Luraas  party  had  returned 
to  Milwaukee  to  purchase  land  already  selected  in 
Waukesha  County,  as  we  have  seen  above.  They 
urged  the  new  arrivals  to  stop  in  Milwaukee  and  go 
with  them  to  Muskego,  but  Nattestad  objected,  and 
so  they  continued  their  journey  to  Chicago. 

Here  Ansten  learned  that  his  brother  had  lo 
cated  in  Wisconsin  the  year  before.  The  party's 
destination  was  La  Salle  County,  but  this  changed 
the  course  of  some  of  them.  Some  who  had  friends 
there  did  go  to  La  Salle  County,  a  few  remained  in 
Chicago,  especially  single  men,  but  the  majority 
went  with  Ansten  to  Clinton.  All  these  (excepting 
some  to  be  noted  below)  bought  land  and  began  the 
life  of  pioneers  there  in  the  fall  of  1839  on  what 
came  to  be  known  as  Jefferson  Prairie.  Besides 
Ole  Knudson  Nattestad  and  his  brother  Ansten, 
those  who  founded  this  settlement  were:  Halvor 
Pederson  Haugen,  Hans  Gjermundson  Haugen,  Thore 


128  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Helgeson  Kirkejord,  Torsten  Helgeson  Kirkejord, 
Jens  Gudbrandson  Myhra,  Gudbrand,  Myhra,  Erik 
Skavlem,  the  brothers  Kittil  and  Kristoffer  Nyhus, 
and  T.  Nelson.  Halvor  Haugen  did  not  come  with 
the  Nattestad  party,  although  he  was  in  Drammen 
intending  to  sail  on  the  Emelia.  Owing  to  lack  of 
room  about  thirty  persons,  including  children,  had  to 
be  left  behind.  Halvor  Haugen  has  himself  told 
(in  Amerika,  September,  1907)  of  the  coming  of 
these.  After  several  days  of  waiting,  they  se 
cured  passage  on  a  boat  bound  for  Gothen 
burg,  Sweden.  The  journey  went  via  Fredrikshald, 
where  another  stay  of  two  or  three  days  took  place. 
At  Gothenburg  a  wait  of  ten  days  followed  before 
the  brig  Bunyan,  on  which  they  were  to  sail,  was 
ready.  "It  was  certainly  fortunate, "  says  our  narra 
tor,  *  '  that  people  were  not  in  such  haste  then,  or  the 
repeated  delays  of  several  days  duration  would  have 
been  the  cause  of  much  unpleasant  irritation. ' '  Land 
ing  in  Boston,  the  immigrants  travelled  by  rail  to 
Providence,  Rhode  Island,  thence  by  steamboat  to 
New  York.  Here  they  boarded  the  boat  which  was 
to  carry  them  to  Albany.  As  they  were  told  the 
boat  was  not  to  leave  before  five  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon  most  of  the  men  of  the  party  went  ashore 
again  to  purchase  food.  When  they  returned  how 
ever  the  boat  had  sailed  having  left  at  ten  in  the 
forenoon  instead  of  five  in  the  afternoon  as  planned. 
Those  left  behind  managed  to  reach  their  destina 
tion  also,  though  with  many  difficulties  and  unpleas- 


SHELBY  COUNTY,  MISSOURI  129 

ant  experiences.  From  Albany  they  travelled  by 
canal  to  Buffalo.  i '  Of  this  part  of  the  journey, ' '  says 
Haugen,  "  there  is  nothing  to  be  said  except  that, 
like  all  other  earthly  things,  this  also  at  last  canie 
to  an  end."  From  Buffalo  the  journey  went  by 
steamboat  to  Chicago.  They  did  not  go  thence  to 
La  Salle  County  though  undoubtedly  intended  orig 
inally  to  do  so.  I  do  not  know  what  changed  their 
course,  but  on  the  next  day  after  arriving  in  Chica 
go,  they  went  to  Du  Page  County,  Illinois,  where  a 
week  later  they  met  those  who  had  gone  with  Natte- 
stad  in  Captain  Ankerson's  ship.  The  party  whose 
coming  has  thus  briefly  been  related  was  composed 
of  Halvor  Haugen,  wife,  three  sons,  Peder,  Halvor 
and  Andreas,  and  two  daughters  Bergit  and  Sigrid ; 
Halvor  Stordok,  Lars  Haugerud,  Gunder  Fingal- 
pladsen,  Engebret  Srcter,  Lars  Dalen,  Gjermund 
Johnson,  and  Sven  Tufte,  all  of  whom  also  had  fam 
ilies,  besides  some  single  persons.  Halvor  Hau 
gen  's  family  and  most  of  the  party  remained  in  Du 
Page  County  for  a  time,  and  Peder  Haugen  and  his 
brother  Andreas  and  the  two  sisters  secured  employ 
ment  there.  The  father,  however,  went  with  Erik 
Skavlem  to  Jefferson  Prairie  to  help  him  build  a 
house.  At  Christmas  the  rest  of  the  party  also  went 
to  Jefferson  Prairie.  During  the  winter  they  all 
lived  in  Skavlem  ?s  house.  This  house  is  described 
as  follows : 

"It  was  sixteen  by  sixteen  and  quite  low.  In  order 
to  add  to  room  ' crowns'  were  erected  overhead,  that  is, 
beams  which  were  laid  crosswise  near  the  ceiling.  These 


130  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

beams  were  cut  pointed  at  the  ends  which  were  made  to 
rest  between  the  logs  in  the  walls  on  either  side,  like 
riders  across  the  house.  On  top  of  these  again  was  laid 
flats,  on  which  beds  were  arranged.  Down  below  on 
the  floor  there  were  also  three  beds." 

A  writer  in  Amerika,  March  first,  1907,  quotes 
one  of  the  immigrants  as  speaking  of  the  cramped 
quarters  in  the  log  cabin,  in  which  the  whole  party 
lived  that  fall  and  winter ;  room  which  to  one  family 
would  seem  too  small  now.  "How  these  settlers/' 
he  says,  "could  manage  in  one  log  cabin  a  whole  win 
ter  is  a  riddle  to  me. "  The  following  spring  Halvor 
Haugen  also  built  a  cabin  which  was  always  full  as 
newcomers  were  constantly  arriving.  At  the  same 
time  other  cabins  were  erected  by  Kittil  and 
Kristoffer  Nyhus,  Gudbrand  and  Jens  Myhra, 
and  Torsten  Kirkejorden.  Two  years  later  all 
of  these  built  new  and  more  commodious  houses. 

The  settlement  thus  founded  exclusively  by  im 
migrants  from  the  district  of  Numedal  has 
always  continued  to  be  recruited  largely  from 
that  region  (see,  however,  below).  In  the  follow 
ing  year  a  few  more  families  came  from  Numedal, 
while  from  1841  the  accessions  were  considerable 
every  year  for  a  number  of  years.  Among  these  is 
to  be  mentioned  Bergit  Nelson  Kallerud,  from 
Vaegli,  who  also  came  in  the  ship  Emilia,  in  1839,  but 
who  does  not  seem  to  have  gone  directly  to  Jeffer 
son  Prairie.  She  married  Jens  Gudbrandson 
Myhra  at  Christmas,  1839,  while  his  brother,  Gud 
brand  Myhra,  married  Ambjor  Olson  (also  from 


132  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Vaegli)  in  1840.  The  following  year  they,  however, 
moved  to  the  Eock  Prairie  Settlement  (see  below), 
and  in  1852  they  settled  in  Mitchell  County,  Iowa. 
In  connection  with  the  settling  of  this  county  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  speak  again  more  fully  of  them. 
Jens  Myhra  was  born  in  Vaegli,  Numedal,  in  1812. 

Of  the  other  founders  of  this  settlement  I  may 
here  add  the  following  facts.  Ole  Knudson  Nattestad 
was  born  at  Vaegli,  in  Eollaug  Parish,  December 
twenty-fourth,  1807.  We  have  above  given  an  ac 
count  of  his  settling  at  Clinton.  In  Nordlyset  for 
May  eighteenth,  1848,  there  appeared  a  communica 
tion  from  Nattestad  relative  to  this  occasion,  in 
which  he  rightly  claims  to  have  been  the  first  Nor 
wegian  to  settle  in  the  state.  He  married  there  Lena 
Hiser  in  1840 ;  he  lived  in  the  settlement,  as  an  influ 
ential,  respected  member  of  the  community,  till  his 
death,  which  occurred  at  Clinton,  May  twenty- eighth, 
1886.  His  wife  died  in  September,  1888.  They  left 
seven  children ;  Henry  Nattestad,  the  oldest,  at  pres 
ent  occupies  the  homestead.  The  other  children  are, 
Charles  (Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota),  James  (Da 
kota),  Ann  (Clinton),  Julia  (Mrs.  Martin  Scofftedt 
Lawrence,  Kansas),  Caroline  (Mrs.  Louis  0.  Larson, 
Clinton),  and  Eliza  (Clinton).  Ansten  Nattestad 
was  born  August  twenty-sixth,  1813,  the  youngest 
of  three  brothers.  Ole  was  the  next  oldest. 

Their  father,  Knud  Nattestad,  was  a  man  of 
some  means,  but  by  the  right  of  primogeniture,  the 
oldest  inherited  the  estate  and  he  remained  in  Nor- 


SHELBY  COUNTY,  MISSOURI  133 

way.  Of  these  things  and  the  early  life  of  the  two 
younger  brothers,  Ole  Nattestad  gives  an  account  in 
an  interview  printed  in  Billed-Magazin,  1869,  where 
also  is  a  detailed  account  of  Ansten  Nattestad 's  com 
ing  to  America  with  his  group  of  one  hundred  immi 
grants  in  1839.  He  also  there,  pages  107-108,  gives 
a  description  of  the  settlement  as  it  was  in  1869,  and 
he  has  elsewhere  in  the  columns  of  that  magazine 
made  important  contributions  to  the  immigration 
history  of  the  years  1838-1840,  which  now  are  among 
the  original  sources  of  material  for  a  history  of  Nor 
wegian  immigration.  Relative  to  the  further  career 
of  Ansten  Nattestad  I  shall  only  add  here  that  he 
became  one  of  the  substantial  members  of  this  great 
and  growing  settlement,  in  which  he  continued  to 
live  until  his  death  on  April  eighth,  1889. 

Hans  G.  Haugen  was  born  at  Vaegli  in  Bollaug 
Parish  in  1785.  He  was  an  old  soldier,  having  been 
in  the  Norwegian-Swedish  War  of  1814,  and  having 
served  in  the  Norwegian  army  for  seven  years.  His 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Sigrid  Pedersdatter 
Valle,  was  born  in  January,  1803.  The  family  con 
sisted  further  of  two  sons,  Gunnul  and  Gjermund, 
the  former  born  at  Vsegli,  April  twenty-eighth,  1827, 
the  latter  on  September  nineteenth,  1836.  The  fath 
er,  Hans  Haugen,  lived  only  a  year  after  coming  to 
America;  he  died  in  October,  1840.  In  1849  the 
widow  and  two  sons  moved  to  Primrose,  Dane  Coun 
ty,  Wisconsin,  where  we  shall  meet  with  them  again. 
Sigrid  Haugen  died  in  Beloit  in  1885.  It  may  be 


134  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

added  here  that  the  family  took  the  name  of  Jackson 
in  this  country.  Of  the  circumstances  that  led  to 
the  adoption  of  this  name  the  son  gives  an  account 
which  appeared  in  Anderson 's  First  Chapter,  etc., 
page  two  hundred  sixty-three. 

Thore  Helgeson  Kirkejord 83  was  born  Septem 
ber  twelfth,  1812;  married  in  1837.  They  had  one 
daughter,  Christie,  born  1849,  and  who  is  married  to 
Gunder  Larson. 84  Thore  Helgeson  died  in  Clinton 
in  1871.  Christopher  C.  Nyhus  (Newhouse)  was 
born  at  Vaegli  in  July,  1812.  When  he  came  to  Clin 
ton  Township  he  first  entered  claim  to  forty  acres  of 
land,  which  was  later  increased  to  a  hundred  sixty. 
He  married  a  daughter  of  Halvor  Halvorson  in  the 
fall  of  1843.  They  had  five  children,  Christopher, 
who  died  in  infancy,  Oliver,  Christopher  2d,  Torrena 
(Mrs.  Gustav  Nelson,  Clinton),  and  Christiana.  T. 
Nelson  settled  on  section  twenty  in  1839 ;  he  married 
Eachel  Gilbertson  that  year.  They  had  five  chil 
dren.  The  son,  T.  T.  Nelson,  married  Mary  Tangen 
of  Manchester,  Illinois,  in  1872.  They  have  two 
daughters,  Anna  R.  (b.  1875),  Gertine  (b.  1878). 


83  Whose  name  appears  as  Torro  Holgeson  in   The  History  of 
Rock  County,  Wisconsin,  1879,  p.  780,  to  which  work  I  am  indebted 
for  some  of  the  facts  recited  above. 

84  They  again  have  four  children.     Mr.  Larson   enlisted  in  the 
42d   Illinois   Eegiment,   later   transferred   to   the   Mississippi   Marine 
Brigade,  was  at  the  battle  of  Vicksburg,  served  faithfully  and  was 
honorably  discharged. 


CHAPTER  XV 

The  Earliest  White  Settlers  on  Rock  and  Jefferson 

Prairies.     The  Founding  of  the  Rock  Prairie 

Settlement.     The  Earliest  Settlers  on  Rock 

Prairie 

We  have  seen  that  when  Ole  Nattestad  settled  at 
Clinton  on  July  first,  1838,  the  country  was  a  wilder 
ness,  he  being  the  only  white  man  there.  He  speaks, 
however,  of  eight  Americans  living  some  distance 
from  him,  in  similar  condition.  It  was  less  than 
three  years  prior  that  the  first  white  settlers  had 
located  in  the  county.  On  the  eighteenth  day  of  No 
vember,  1835,  John  Inman,  of  Lucerne  County,  Penn 
sylvania,  Thomas  Holmes,  William  Holmes,  and 
Joshua  Holmes,  of  Ohio,  Milo  Jones  and  George 
Follmer,  settled  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Janesville,  opposite  the  "big  rock."  8S  This  was  the 
first  settlement  in  Eock  County.  Inman  and  Wil 
liam  Jones  had  visited  the  locality  and  selected  this 
spot  in  July  of  that  year.  On  this  occasion  they  had 
camped  on  the  bluff  on  the  Eacine  road.  Our  au 
thority  relates:  "From  this  point  they  saw  Eock 
Prairie  stretching  away  in  the  distance  to  the  east 
and  south,  till  the  verdant  plain  mingled  with  the 
blue  of  the  horizon.  They  saw  before  them  an  ocean 
of  waving  grass  and  blooming  flowers,  and  realized 
the  idea  of  having  found  the  real  Canaan  —  the  real 


136  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

paradise  of  the  world/'  They  returned  to  Milwau 
kee,  having  in  their  ten  days'  exploration  of  the 
Eock  Eiver  Valley,  found  but  one  family,  namely, 
a  Mr.  McMillan,  who  resided  where  Waukesha  now 
stands. 8S  Somewhat  later  in  the  year  came  Samuel 
St.  John  and  his  wife,  the  last  being  the  first  white 
woman  in  the  county.  The  next  year  there  were 
several  new  arrivals.  On  December  seventh,  1836, 
townships  one,  two,  three,  and  four  north  of  ranges 
eleven,  twelve,  thirteen,  and  fourteen,  of  the  fourth 
principal  meridian,  afterwards  the  eastern  sixteen 
of  the  present  twenty  townships  of  Eock  County, 86 
were  taken  from  Milwaukee  County  and  constituted 
a  separate  county,  called  Eock.  The  county  took  its 
name  from  the  "big  rock"  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river,  now  within  the  city  limits  of  Janesville,  and 
an  ancient  landmark  among  the  Indians  and  the 
early  traders. 

All  these  earliest  settlements  (1836-1837)  were 
made  near  and  along  the  Eock  Eiver.  In  1838  there 
were  four  hundred  and  eighty  settled  in  this  region 
chiefly,  the  centers  of  population  being  already  then 
Janesville  and  Beloit.  Next  follow  Johnstown, 
Lima,  and  Milton,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
county,  and  Union.  The  region  west  of  Beloit,  New 
ark,  Avon,  Spring  Valley,  was  still  wholly  unsettled 
in  the  summer  of  1839.  The  Town  of  Bradford,  the 
next  north  of  Clinton,  was  first  settled  by  Erastus 
Dean,  in  1836;  there  were  very  few  before  1838. 

85  History  of  Rock  County,  p.  335. 

86  Avon,  Spring  Valley,  Magnolia  and  Union  being  added  in  1838. 


ROCK  AND  JEFFERSON  PRAIRIES          137 

The  Town  of  Clinton,  as  originally  organized  (1842), 
comprised  the  territory  of  the  present  town,  the 
south  half  of  Bradford,  and  portions  of  Turtle  and 
La  Prairie. 

The  first  actual  settlement  in  the  present 
township  was  made  in  May,  1837,  on  the  west 
side  of  Jefferson  Prairie,  by  Stephen  E.  Downer 
and  Daniel  Tasker,  and  their  wives,  on  the  southeast 
side  of  the  prairie.  In  July,  Oscar  H.  Pratt  and 
Franklin  Mitchell,  from  Joliet,  Illinois,  made  claims. 
These  were  the  earliest.  On  the  west  side  of  the 
prairie  settlement  was  made  in  October,  1837,  by 
H.  L.  Warner,  Henry  Tuttle,  Albert  Tuttle,  and 
Griswold  Weaver.  We  recall  that  Ole  Nattestad 
said  that  when  he  came  to  Clinton  on  July  first,  1838, 
there  were  eight  Americans  living  isolated  at  con 
siderable  distance  from  him.  Nattestad  located  on 
section  twenty.  Here  Christopher  Nyhus  also  set 
tled,  while  Thore  Helgeson  settled  on  section  twenty- 
nine.  Who  the  eight  settlers  were  that  Nattestad 
met,  remains  somewhat  uncertain,  but  it  does  not 
seem  unlikely  that  it  was  the  four  last  mentioned, 
and  some  of  the  first  explorers,  who  are  named  as 
Charles  Tuttle,  Dennis  Mills,  Milton  S.  Warner,  and 
William  S.  Murrey. 

The  Town  of  Turtle,  directly  west  of  Clinton, 
was  not  organized  until  1846.  The  first  settlers  were 
S.  G.  Colley,  who  located  on  section  thirty-two,  in 
the  spring  of  1838,  and  Daniel  D.  Egery,  who  came 
there  about  the  same  time,  locating  on  section  thirty- 


138  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

six  (to  Beloit,  however,  in  1837).  Such  were  the 
beginnings  of  settlement  east  of  Beloit  prior  to 
Nattestad's  coming,  and  it  was  still  virtually  a  wil 
derness  when  Ansten  Nattestad's  party  came  at  the 
close  of  September,  1839.  West  of  Beloit,  in  the 
Town  of  Newark,  the  Norwegians  were  the  first, 
while  in  Avon  and  Spring  Valley  they  were  among 
the  earliest  groups  of  settlers.  It  is  the  settlement 
of  this  region,  and  especially  the  Town  of  Newark,  to 
which  we  shall  now  turn. 

We  observed  above  that  some  of  Ansten  Nattes- 
tad's  party  who  came  to  Jefferson  Prairie  in  Sep 
tember,  1839,  did  not  remain  there.  These  went 
fourteen  miles  farther  west  and  established  a  settle 
ment  in  the  Township  of  Newark,  which  had  not  been 
settled  by  white  men  before,  while  a  few  of  the  mem 
bers  of  this  latter  party  went  south  from  there  eigh 
teen  miles,  crossing  the  Illinois  line,  and  located  in 
the  Township  of  Eock  Eun,  in  Stephenson  County, 
Illinois. 

The  founder  of  the  Eock  Prairie  Settlement  was 
Gullik  Olson  Gravdal,  of  Vaegli,  Numedal;  he  emi 
grated  from  Norway  with  Ansten  Nattestad  in  1839. 
He  came  directly  to  Jefferson  Prairie,  but  did  not  re 
main  there.  With  Gisle  Halland  and  Goe  Bjono 
he  went  west  a  distance  to  look  over  the  country, 
with  a  view  to  settling  elsewhere.  Having  arrived 
at  Beloit,  they  managed  here  to  secure  a  map  and 
from  it  got  some  idea  of  where  government  land 
was  to  be  had.  Then  they  continued  their  journey 


ROCK  AND  JEFFERSON  PRAIRIES  139 

along  the  Madison  road  seven  miles  farther  west. 
Finally,  he  came  to  a  place  which  suited  him,  for 
he  found,  as  he  says,  "good  spring  water,  as  also 
prairie  and  woodland  in  the  right  proportion. ' '  To 
gether  with  Lars  Boste,  a  single  man  from  the  Parish 
of  Land,  he  then  bought  forty  acres  of  land. 87  Gisle 
Halland  bought  land  one  mile  farther  east,  while 
Goe  Bjono  took  a  claim  on  a  piece  of  land  for  Mrs. 
Gunhild  Odegaarden,  three  miles  south  of  the  site 
selected  by  Gravdal. 

Gunhild  Odegaarden  (who  emigrated  from 
Nore,  annex  parish  in  Numedal)  was  a  widow  of  con 
siderable  means,  who  had  paid  the  passage  of  sev 
eral  other  persons.  Her  family,  among  whom  were 
grown  sons  and  daughters,  emigrated  with  her  to 
America  in  the  Nattestad  party  and  came  directly 
to  Jefferson  Prairie.  Immediately  after  Bjono 's 
purchase  of  land  for  her  in  Newark  Township  she, 
with  family,  moved  out  there  and  had  a  log  cabin 
erected,  this  being  the  first  dwelling  built  in  that 
township.  This  statement  is  based  upon  the  author 
ity  of  Gravdal  himself,  as  printed  in  an  interview 
on  page  162  of  Billed-Magazin  for  1869.  The  His 
tory  of  Rock  County  agrees  in  this  statement  that 
Mrs.  Odegaarden 's  log  cabin,  built  in  the  fall  of  1839, 
was  the  first  house  erected  in  the  Town  of  Newark. 
Gunhild  Odegaarden 's  name  appears  regularly  as 
Mrs.  Gunale  (or  Gunile).  She  is  there  mentioned  sev 
eral  times,  her  family  being  extensively  intermarried 

87  Roste  later  went  back  to  Norway,  however. 


140  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

with  the  old  pioneer  families  in  the  settlement. 88 
Gravdal  completed  the  erection  of  a  cabin  late  in 
the  fall,  and  his  family  having  been  left  on  Jefferson 
Prairie,  he  brought  them  to  Kock  Prairie  in  the  lat 
ter  part  of  November  (Billed-Magazin,  1869,  page 
162). 89 

That  same  fall  Gisle  Halland  married  Margit 
Knudsdatter  Nosterud  from  Ballaug  Parish,  Nume- 
dal,  being  obliged  to  go  as  far  south  as  Bockf  ord,  Illi 
nois,  to  get  the  ceremony  performed.  Their  oldest 
child,  Kristine,  born  in  the  fall  of  1840,  was  the  first 
white  child  born  in  that  township.  Gravdal,  speaking 
of  those  days,  says :  "  When  I  located  in  this  region, 
the  whole  country  to  the  west  was  a  desert.  I  do 
not  know  whether  there  lived  white  people  anywhere 
between  my  home  and  the  Mississippi.  The  same 
was  also  the  case  toward  the  north;  however,  about 
seven  miles  west  (east!)  from  my  home  two  Yankees 
had  settled  in  the  wilderness.  The  Indians  were 
still  lords  of  these  regions.  They  often  visited  us 
in  our  houses,  but  they  were  always  friendly  and 
courteous.  We  were  never  molested  by  the  wild  son 
of  the  desert.  There  was  at  this  time  an  abundance 
of  game;  we  saw  stags  in  large  herds,  and  prairie 
chickens  literally  swarmed. "  There  seem  to  have 

88  Thus  Ole  Gulack  Gravdal,  son  of  Gullik  Gravdal,  married  Juri 
Sdegaarden  (given  as  Juri  Gunale  in  The  Rock  County  History)  in 
1855. 

89  There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  correctness  of  the  facts  as 
here  given.     It  has  also  been  said  that  Lars  Skavlem's  house  was  the 
first  to  be  erected,  and  J.  W.  C.  Dietrichson  erroneously  even  names 
him  as  the  first  Norwegian  in  Rock  Prairie. 


ROCK  AND  JEFFERSON  PRAIRIES  141 

been  no  fresh  accessions  of  settlers  until  the  spring 
of  1841.  Then  Lars  H.  Skavlem  arrived  and  located 
on  section  eleven.  Gullik  Knudson  Laugen  also 
came  at  the  same  time,  and  not  long  after  several 
Americans  moved  in.  Both  Skavlem  and  Knudson 
had  come  to  America  in  1839,  having  been  members 
of  Nattestad's  party.  Skavlem  had,  in  the  interval, 
lived  on  Jefferson  Prairie.  Gullik  Knudson  had  re 
mained  in  Chicago,  as  had  also  Gunnul  Stordok,  se 
curing  work  there, 90  as  did  also  two  girls  from 
Numedal,  to  whom  they  were  engaged  in  Norway. 
These  two  couples  were  married  the  following  win 
ter,  and,  having  saved  some  money  from  their  small 
earnings,  they  decided  to  buy  a  home  somewhere  in 
the  Norwegian  settlement  in  Rock  County.  Knud 
son  relates:  "I  walked  about  several  days  to  find 
a  location  for  a  home,  and  at  last  came  to  a  place  on 
the  verge  of  a  prairie,  where  a  rushing  spring  of 
water  poured  out  of  the  ground.  Here  I  decided  to 
build  and  live,  and  I  called  the  place  Spring  en  (the 
spring).  The  land  about  was  like  a  desert;  barring 
the  four  Norwegians  who  had  come  before  me,  there 
were  no  settlers.  Toward  the  west  one  had  to  travel 
twenty-two  miles  to  find  white  people.  It  was  for 
tunate  that  there  was  an  abundance  of  game,  for 
what  we  secured  by  hunting  was  the  sustenance  on 
which  we  chiefly  relied  during  the  winter."  He  tells 
how,  with  the  first  fall  of  snow,  he  and  another 91 


90  His  wages  were  from  six  to  ten  dollars  a  week. 

91  Whom  we  now  know  to  have  been  Hellik  Glaim. 


142  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

walked  on  skis  to  Beloit  to  buy  flour,  and  how  the 
tracks  left  in  the  snow  by  the  skis  had  aroused  con 
siderable  wonder  and  speculation  among  the  Amer 
icans  about  there,  who  afterwards  discovered  the 
tracks,  and  that  it  became  the  subject  of  extensive 
discussion  as  to  what  unknown  monster  could  have 
left  such  tracks.  Beloit,  he  says,  consisted  then  of 
a  mill,  a  hotel,  two  stores,  and  a  few  laborers'  cot 
tages. 

From  the  fact  of  his  location  near  the  big  spring, 
"Springen,"  as  Knudson  called  it,  he  came  to  be 
called  Gullik  Springen ;  his  sir  name,  Laugen,  he  no 
longer  used,  but  wrote  himself  Gullik  Knudson. 
Here  by  this  spring,  Knudson  built  a  hut  of  shrubs, 
thatched  with  straw,  in  which  they  lived  for  three 
months  while  the  log  cabin  was  being  built. 92  The 
flat  cover  of  a  chest,  brought  from  Norway,  served 
for  a  table,  and  the  cooking  was  done  on  the  ground. 
In  December  the  log  cabin  was  ready.  Gunnul  Stor- 
dok  and  wife,  who  did  not  come  to  Newark  until  Sep 
tember,  lived  with  Knudson  during  the  first  winter, 
after  which  they  removed  to  Illinois. 93 

In  the  summer  of  1841  a  considerable  number  of 
Knudson 's  acquaintances  from  Norway  came;  these 
found  a  temporary  home  with  Knudson,  sharing  in 

92  This  log  cabin  is  still  used  as  a   chicken  house  on  the  old 
Springen  homestead. 

93  The  Sock   County  History   says   of  Stordok:     ''He   and  his 
family  lived  in  a  haystack  for  three  months  until  they  had  completed 
a  log  cabin   (page  774).     As  we  have  seen,  it  was  not  a  haystack 
they  lived  in.     Stordok 's  family  consisted,  as  yet,  only  of  himself  and 
wife. 


ROCK  AND  JEFFERSON  PRAIRIES  143 

his  genuine  pioneer  hospitality.  Among  them  were 
Halvor  Skavlem  and  his  wife,  Berit,  the  daughter, 
Kari,  and  two  sons,  Ole  and  Paul  Skavlem,  the  latter 
with  wife  and  child,  Bessie.  Halvor  Skavlem  died 
one  week  after  their  arrival.  The  son  Paul  bought 
land;  Ole  first,  however,  went  to  Mineral  Point,  in 
Dodge  County,  returning,  however,  later;  he  settled 
near  Orfordville.  Another  of  this  group  was  Hal 
vor  Nilson  Aas,  who,  with  his  family,  settled  near 
Gravdahl,  in  Newark  Township.  Knut  Kristensen 
also  came  in  1841  and  located  on  section  eleven, 
erecting  a  log  cabin  there.  Finally,  Ole  Halvorson 
Valle,  who  later  moved  to  Iowa,  was  among  this 
number. 

Several  of  those  who  had  come  to  Jeffer 
son  Prairie  in  1839  removed  to  Rock  Prairie  in  the 
summer  of  1841.  Thus,  Hellik  Glaim,  Lars  Skavlem, 
and  the  latter 's  three  brothers,  Gullik,  Gjermund, 
and  Herbrand;  these  all  moved  there  upon  their 
father  Halvor 's  arrival  from  Norway  that  summer. 
Hellik  N.  Braekke  and  Nils  Olson  Vaegli  came  directly 
from  Norway  in  1841.  The  last  mentioned  was  from 
Vaegli  Annex  to  Eollaug  Parish  in  Numedal.  He 
was  born  at  Vaegli  Parsonage  and  was  therefore  oft 
en  called  Nils  Prestegaard.  He  lived  at  GravdaPs 
the  first  winter;  the  following  summer  he,  with  two 
others,  Paul  Skavlem  and  Hellik  Braekke,  bought  a 
quarter  section  of  land  together  in  section  thirty- 
two  in  Plymouth  Township.  Nils  Vaegli  was  mar 
ried  in  1844  to  Kari  Skavlem,  daughter  of  Halvor 


144  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Skavlem;  they  went  to  Koshkonong,  in  Dane  Coun 
ty,  to  be  married  by  Eeverend  J.  W.  C.  Dietrichson, 
who  had  just  come  there  from  Norway.  They  were 
one  of  the  first  couples  to  be  married  by  him.  Hel- 
lik  Braekke  sold  out  his  share  in  the  land,  and  in  1852 
moved  to  Mitchell  County,  Iowa.  Lars  Skavlem 
bought  land  and  settled  near  Halvor  Aas,  whose 
daughter  (Groe  Nelson)  he  married  in  1844;  hence, 
he  was  also  called  Lars  Aas.  He  later  bought 
his  father-in-law's  farm,  the  place  being  called  "the 
Skavlen  farm"  (Skavlenfarmen).  Gullik  Skavlem 
bought  land  three  miles  east  of  Gisle  Halland  in 
Beloit  Township,  about  three  miles  from  Beloit ;  he, 
however,  moved  to  Mitchell  County,  Iowa,  in  the  fif 
ties.  94  Hellik  Glaim  had  stopped  in  Chicago  till 
1840,  when  he  came  to  Bock  Prairie.  Ten  years 
later  he  sold  out  and  moved  to  Fillmore  County, 
Minnesota. 9S 

The  above  is  a  brief  record  of  the  beginnings  of 
the  Eock  Prairie  Settlement.  Of  some  of  the  found 
ers  of  this  settlement,  which,  in  a  few  years,  became 
one  of  the  most  prosperous  in  the  state,  I  may  here 
add: 

Gullik  Gravdal,  the  nestor  of  the  settlement,  was 
born  in  Vaegli,  Numedal,  in  1802;  he  died  in  1873, 
leaving  widow,  a  daughter,  Sarah,  and  two  sons,  Ole 
and  Tolle.  Ole  Gravdal  was  born  in  Norway  in 
1830;  he  married  Jori  Odegaarden  in  1855,  after 

94  Of  these  various  removals  to  Mitchell  County,  Iowa,  I  shall 
speak  more  fully  in  the  proper  place. 

95  Glaim  located  at  Hanley  Falls,  Minnesota,  in  1866. 


ROCK  AND  JEFFERSON  PRAIRIES  145 

which  he  lived  for  thirteen  years  in  Beloit,  then 
removed  to  Newark  Township.  He  is  at  present 
living  in  Beloit,  Wisconsin.  Ole  Gravdal  dropped 
the  latter  name  and  used  the  patronymic  Gulack. 
Tolle  Gulack  Gravdal  was  born  in  1833.  He  mar 
ried  Bessie  Skavlem,  daughter  of  Paul  H.  Skavlem, 
in  1857.  They  lived  on  the  farm  in  Newark  until 
1894  (Tolle  having  lived  there  fifty-five  years),  in 
which  year  they  moved  to  Beloit.  He  died  in  Sep 
tember,  1903,  leaving  a  widow  and  two  children,  a 
son,  Gilbert  Gravdal,  in  Newark  Township,  and  a 
daughter,  Mrs.  C.  E.  Inman,  in  Beloit.  A  son,  Hen 
ry,  died  in  1902,  and  a  daughter,  Nellie  (Mrs.  W.  0. 
Hanson),  died  in  the  summer  of  1903.  Amerika  for 
September  twenty-fifth,  1903,  prints  an  obituary  no 
tice  of  Tolle  Gravdal,  according  to  which  his  death 
was  sudden,  being  stricken  as  he  was  at  work.  The 
notice  says,  "he  was  one  of  those  who  had  tried  the 
privations  and  the  trials  of  pioneer  life,  and  he  was 
always  ready  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  all  who 
needed  it.  He  enjoyed  universal  respect  and  love 
for  his  sincerity  and  his  integrity  and  his  lovable 
nature. "  Sarah  Gravdal,  daughter  of  Gullik  Grav 
dal,  married  Halvor  Halvorson  (son  of  Cleophas 
Halvorson),  of  Newark  Township,  in  1869. 

Hellik  Nilson  Bra?kke  married  a  sister  of  Kev- 
erend  C.  F.  Clausen's  wife;  in  1852  he  joined  the 
latter 's  colony  of  settlers  in  Mitchell  County,  Iowa. 
Lars  Skavlem  was  born  in  1819.  He  married  Groe 
Nilson  Aas  in  1844;  their  children  are  Halvor,  Bes- 


146  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

sie,  Helen  and  Carolina.  The  son,  Halvor  L.  Skav- 
lem,  born  1848,  is  a  farmer  in  Newark  Township ; 
he  married  Cornelia  Olmstead,  in  Plymouth,  a 
granddaughter  of  Mrs.  Gunild  Odegaarden. 96  Gun- 
nul  Stordok  moved  to  Eock  Bun  (see  below).  It 
seems  that  he  had  retained  some  of  his  land  in  New 
ark,  for  when  Gunder  Knudson  Springen  (brother 
of  Gullik  Springen)  came  there  in  1843,  he  bought 
land  then  owned  by  Gunnul  Stordok. 

We  shall  now  leave,  for  the  present,  the  Eock 
Prairie  Settlement,  and  observe  what  was  taking 
place  elsewhere  during  the  period  that  has  been 
briefly  sketched  here. 


96  They  have  two  children,  Lulu  and  Lewis. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

The  Rock  Run  Settlement.     Other  Immigrants  of 
1839.     The  Immigration  of  1840. 

It  has  been  stated  that  a  settlement  was  also  es 
tablished  in  Illinois  about  twenty  miles  southwest  of 
Rock  Prairie,  the  same  year  as  the  latter  was  set 
tled,  i.  e.,  in  1839.  This  came  to  be  known  as  the 
Rock  Run  Settlement,  from  the  name  of  the  town. 
It  lies  partly  in  Stephenson,  partly  in  Winnebago 
County.  The  locality  is  prairie,  relieved  here  and 
there  by  bits  of  timber  land.  The  foundation  of 
this  settlement  is  also  to  be  accredited  to  an  immi 
grant  from  Numedal,  who  came  on  the  Amelia,  in 
1839.  His  name  was  Clemet  Torstenson  Stabsek,  and 
he  came  from  Rollaug  Parish.  With  him  three  oth 
ers  located  there  in  the  fall  of  1839,  namely,  Syvert 
Tollefson  and  Ole  Anderson,  from  Numedal,  and  a 
Mr.  Knudson,  from  Drammen.  Stabaek  was  a  man 
of  considerable  means.  He  selected  land  in  Win 
nebago  County,  near  the  present  village  of  Davis. 
His  son,  Torsten  K.  0.  Stabaek  (born  in  Norway  97) 
married  Torgen  Patterson,  and  they  lived  on 
the  farm  until  1884,  when  they  moved  to  Davis.  98 
Kristopher  Rostad  and  wife,  Kristi,  seem  also  to 

97  Not  on  the  homestead,  as  History  of  Norwegians  of  Illinois, 
page  487,  has  it. 

98  In  1895  he  organized  the  Farmers  Bank  of  Davis,  Illinois,  of 
which  his  son,  C.  O.  E.  Stabeck,  is  now  cashier. 


148  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

have  moved  to  Eock  Bun  before  the  close  of  1839. 
In  the  following  summer  came  Gunnul  Stordok,  to 
whom  we  have  referred  under  the  settling  of  New 
ark  in  Eock  County.  Stordok  lived  in  Eock  Eun 
until  1870;  he  then  moved  back  to  Newark,  where 
the  rest  of  his  relatives  who  had  come  to  America 
had  settled.  "  Gunnul  Stordok  was  born  in  Eollaug, 
Numedal,  in  the  year  1800 ;  he  married  Mary  Larson 
(of  Eollaug)  before  emigrating. 

Among  the  earliest  arrivals  in  the  settlement 
subsequently  was  Halvor  Aasen,  born  in  Numedal 
in  1823,  and  who  came  to  America  in  1841.  For  two 
years  after  coming  to  this  country  he  worked  in  the 
lead  mines  at  Mineral  Point,  Wisconsin,  and  at  Ga 
lena,  Illinois.  In  1843  he  married  Christie  Olson, 
and  bought  a  farm  in  Laona  Township,  Winnebago 
County,  whither  he  and  his  wife  moved  in  1844. 
Here  they  lived  until  their  death.  She  died  in  1902, 
and  he  in  March,  1905. 10° 

The  Eock  Eun  Settlement  was  prosperous  but 
did  not  grow  to  such  proportions  as  its  sister  settle 
ments  to  the  north.  In  later  years  many  of  its  earl 
ier  pioneers  moved  back  to  Eock  County,  as  Stordok 
did,  and  as  Lars  Eostad  and  family  also  did  in  the 
sixties.  Among  those  who  located  at  Eock  Eun  in 
the  forties  were  Hovel  Paulson  (born  1817)  from 


99  When  he  returned  to  Newark  in  1870  he  bought  two  hundred 
acres  of  land,  for  which  he  paid  seven  thousand  dollars. 

100  Their  children  are   Ole   Anderson  and  Andrew  Anderson   at 
Davis,    Illinois,    and    Mrs.    O.    H.    Lerud    at   Lyle,    Minnesota;    four 
children  are  dead. 


ROCK  RUN  149 

North  Land  Parish,  Norway,  who  located  near  Davis 
in  1846  ;101  Christian  Lunde,  also  from  Lajad,  Nor 
way,  came  to  Bock  Kun  in  1848  and  later  moved  to 
Goodhue  County,  Minnesota;  Narve  Stabask,  Tor- 
sten  Knudson  and  Nels  Nelson,  all  three  from 
Numedal;  Gunder  0.  Halvorson,  from  Kragero; 
Svale  Nilson,  from  Bukn  Parish,  Stavanger; 
Gunder  Halvorson,  from  Telemarken,  and  Lars  0. 
Anderson.  There  appears  a  very  brief  account  of 
the  Rock  Kun  Settlement  by  Lars  0.  Anderson  in 
Nordlyset,  under  date  of  June  second,  1848.  Ac 
cording  to  this  there  were  at  that  time  twenty  fam 
ilies,  twelve  unmarried  men  over  twenty  years  of 
age,  six  unmarried  women  of  over  twenty  years, 
while  there  were  thirty-two  persons  below  the  age 
of  twenty.  The  whole  settlement,  he  says,  numbers 
ninety  persons  and  comprises  4,062  acres  of  land. 

We  have  followed  somewhat  fully  the  immigra 
tion  movement  in  Numedal  and  Telemarken  in  1839, 
and  we  have  also  noted  the  fact  that  that  year  re 
cords  its  contingent  of  emigrants  also  from  Stav 
anger  Province.  It  remains  here  to  note  briefly  the 
growth  of  the  movement  in  Voss  and  its  spread  else 
where.  Nils  Lydvo  came  from  Voss  in  1839,  and 
went  directly  to  his  brothers,  Knud  and  Ole  Lydvo, 
in  Shelby  County,  Missouri.  At  the  same  time  came 
Anders  Finno,  Lars  Davidson  Eekve,  Nils  Severson 
Gilderhus,  and  Anfin  Leidal;  their  destination  was 

101  He  moved  to  the  Old  People's  Home  in  Stoughton  in  1903, 
where  he  died  in  1907,  his  wife  having  died  in  1905.  His  only  son 
was  killed  in  the  Civil  War. 


150  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

La  Salle  County. 102  The  party  further  contained 
Ole  K.  Gilderhus,  Lars  Ygre,  Anders  Flage,  Lars 
Dugstad,  Knud  Gjostein,  Anders  Nilson  Brsekke  and 
wife,  Knud  Brsekke  and  wife,  Magne  B.  Bystolen, 
Anna  Gilderhus,  and  Anna  Bakketun. 

This  party  seems  to  have  arrived  in  New 
York  early  in  July,  1839,  and  to  have  intended 
to  go  to  Illinois.  We  shall  meet  with  most  of  them 
later  as  pioneers  in  Wisconsin  settlements,  but  for 
a  time  many  of  them  remained  in  Chicago,  so  that 
in  the  fall  of  1839  and  the  following  winter  there 
was  a  considerable  colony  of  Norwegian  immigrants 
located  in  Chicago.  Nils  A.  Lie,  of  Deerfield,  Wis 
consin,  writing  of  this  fact,  says  there  were  more 
Vossings  in  Chicago  about  1840  than  all  other  Nor 
wegians  combined. 103  Among  those  who  remained 
temporarily  in  Chicago  were  Ole  K.  Gilderhus,  Lars 
Ygre  and  Lars  Eekve.  The  last  of  these  worked  for 
a  year  on  a  steamer  plying  between  Chicago  and  St. 
Joseph,  Michigan. 104  I  shall  give  a  brief  sketch  of 
him  below,  under  KoshJconong.  Anders  Finno 
went  to  Koshkonong,  Dane  County,  in  1840,  but 
later  settled  in  Blue  Mounds,  in  the  same  county. 
In  1850  he  went  to  California  with  a  group  of  gold 
seekers  and  has  not  since  been  heard  from  by  his 
compatriots. 

Anders  Nilson  Braekke  105  was  born  at  Braekke, 


102  Where,  however,  they  did  not  remain,  as  we  shall  see. 

103  Bygdejaevning,  page  43. 

104  Anderson's  First  Chapter,  page  330. 

1 05  Andrew  Nelson  Brekke. 


ROCK  RUN  151 

Voss,  Norway,  February  twelfth,  1818 ;  he  had  mar 
ried  Inger  Nelson  in  Norway.  Brsekke  located  per 
manently  in  Chicago,  working  at  first  for  Mathew 
Laflin  and  John  Wright.  He  laid  the  foundation  of 
his  future  fortune  in  1845,  when  he  purchased  some 
property  on  Superior  Street,  on  part  of  which  he 
built  the  residence,  where  he  lived  until  his  death  in 
1887.  He  held  many  offices  of  public  trust  in  the 
discharge  of  which  he  was  able  and  unimpeachable 
in  his  honesty.  Bra>kke's  first  wife  died  early  leav 
ing  three  children.  106  In  1849  he  married  Mrs.  Julia 
K.  Williams ;  three  children  by  this  marriage  are 
living.  107 

In  the  party  of  emigrants  from  Voss  in  1839 
were  also  Arne  Anderson  Vinje  (born  1820)  and 
wife  Martha  (Gulliksdatter  Kindem).  From  Vinje 
we  learn  that  the  ship,  on  which  the  twenty  emi 
grants  from  Voss  came  that  year,  left  Norway  April 
sixteenth  and  that  they  arrived  at  Chicago  in  Sep 
tember.  Vinje  located  first  in  Chicago;  soon  after 
arriving  he  built  a  log  house,  in  which  he  and  his 
wife  lived  during  the  first  winter.  Anders  Brrckke, 
it  is  said,  assisted  him  in  the  erection  of  the  log 
house.  During  the  winter  Vinje  worked  on  a  road 
that  was  being  laid  out  on  the  west  side ;  for  this 
work  he  received  sixteen  dollars  a  month.  The  next 
July  however  Vinje  together  with  Per  Davidson 

106  They  are  all  dead  long  ago. 

107  A  daughter  of  theirs  is  Mrs.  J.  A.  Waite  of  the  Anchor  Line 
Steamship  Company.     I  am  indebted  to  Strand's  Norwegians  in  Illi 
nois  (page  215)  for  some  of  the  facts  of  Braekke's  personal  history. 


152  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Skjerveim  (who  had  just  arrived  from  Voss,  Nor 
way)  each  with  his  team  of  oxen  left  for  Hamilton 
Diggings  in  La  Fayette.  Here  each  took  a  claim  of 
government  land;  of  this  we  shall  speak  more  at 
length  in  the  chapter  on  Wiota. 

During  the  year  1840  emigration  from  Norway 
was  rather  limited.  There  had  been  a  considerable 
exodus  in  1839  from  Numedal  and  Telemarken.  The 
lull  in  1840  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  in 
tending  emigrants  in  those  regions  were  waiting  for 
favorable  news  from  their  relatives  and  friends  who 
had  gone  the  preceding  year.  The  settlers  at  Musk- 
ego,  on  Jefferson  and  Eock  Prairies  and  at  Eock 
Eun  had  barely  gotten  located  when  the  winter  set 
in.  Communication  was  of  course  very  slow,  and 
spring  and  early  summer  was  the  sailing  season  of 
Norwegian  emigrants  in  those  days.  The  year  1840, 
however,  brought  its  quota  of  arrivals  from  Voss, 108 
namely  Kund  J.  Hylle,  Ole  S.  Gilderhus,  Knut 
Eokne,  Mads  Sanve,  Baard  Nyre,  Brynjolf  Eonve, 
Torstein  Saue,  wife,  and  son  Gulleik, 109  Klaus 
Grimestad  and  wife,  Arne  Urland  and  wife,  and  Lars 
T.  Eothe ;  there  were  twenty  in  all  in  the  party.  All 
of  these  it  is  said  settled  in  Chicago.  no  They  all 
came  in  Captain  Ankerson's  ship  Emelia,  the  same 
ship  which  carried  Nattestad's  party  in  1839.  They 

108  As  also  from  Drammen,  see  below,  page  159. 

109  Father  of  Torger  G.  Thompson  of  Cambridge,  Dane  County, 
Wisconsin. 

HOI  gather  most  of  these  names  from  Nils  A.  Lie's  account  in 
Bygdejaevning,  pages  47-48. 


ROCK  RUN  153 

were  five  months  on  this  journey,  arriving  in  Chicago 
in  September.  We  shall  later  meet  with  some  of 
these  elsewhere. 

A  few  other  names  from  different  parts  of  Nor 
way  are  recorded  among  the  immigrants  of  1839. 
We  have  observed  above  that  Johan  Nordboe  of 
Eingebo  in  Gudbrandsdalen  had  come  to  America 
in  1832.  Though  he  wrote  letters  home  it  does  not 
seem  that  he  succeeded  in  promoting  emigration 
from  that  section  of  Norway,  except  individually, 
and  then  not  until  1839.  In  that  year  his  friend 
Lars  Johanneson  Holo  of  Eingsaker,  Hedemarken, 
together  with  three  grown  up  sons  came  to  Amer 
ica.  H1  Holo  did,  however,  not  go  to  Dallas  County, 
Texas,  where  Nordboe  had  settled  the  year  before, 
but  he  first  located  in  Eochester,  New  York.  A  man 
by  the  name  of  Lauman  from  Faaberg  in  Gudbrands 
dalen  also  came  with  him  and  went  to  Eochester. 
He,  however,  went  west  a  few  years  later,  settling 
in  Lee  County,  Illinois.  Holo  remained  in  Eochester 
two  years,  he  and  his  sons  being  employed  there  on 
the  canal.  In  1841  they  went  to  Muskego,  where  we 
shall  find  them  in  our  next  chapter. 

Among  the  immigrants  of  1839  we  find  one  man 
from  Sogn,  the  first  to  emigrate  from  that  region 
to  America.  His  name  is  Per  I.  Unde, 112  and  he 

111  The  route  led  by  way  of  Havre  and  New  York. 

112  H.  E.  Holand  writes  of  Per  Unde  in  Slcandinaven  for  July 
seventeenth,    1908,   stating   that  he   came  in    1842.     Unde's   nephew, 
Jacob   Unde   of   Sherry,    Wisconsin,   contributes   in   a  later  issue   of 
Skandinaven  some  corrections,  among  them  that  Per  Unde  came  in 
1839. 


154  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

came  from  Vik  Parish  in  Outer  Sogn.  He  lived  in 
Chicago  it  seems,  the  two  first  years  he  was  in 
America.  In  1841  his  brother  Ole  Unde  arrived  and 
the  two  went  to  La  Fayette  County;  we  shall  speak 
of  both  of  these  men  later.  Among  the  immigrants 
of  1839  who  did  not  go  to  Muskego  I  may  here  men 
tion  Knud  Hellikson  Eoe  and  wife  Anna  and  four 
children  who  came  from  Tin,  Telemarken.  They 
went  to  La  Salle  County,  Illinois,  where  they  lived 
till  1841 ;  thence  they  removed  to  Eacine  County  and 
in  1843  went  to  Dane  County,  Wisconsin  (see  be 
low). 

Ole  H.  Hanson  and  wife  also  from  Tin, 
Telemarken,  came  in  1839.  They  settled  at  Indian 
Creek,  near  where  now  stands  the  village  of  Leland, 
La  Salle  County,  Illinois.  The  first  winter  they 
lived  in  a  dugout  on  the  same  spot  on  the  homestead 
where  the  residence  now  stands.  Mrs.  Hanson  died 
in  1842,  Mr.  Hanson  died  three  years  later.  The 
children  were  Ole,  known  as  Ole  H.  Hanson,  Alex, 
Betsey,  Helen,  and  Levina.  Ole  Hanson  assumed 
charge  of  the  homestead  and  lived  there  and  near 
Leland  till  his  death  in  December,  1904.  In  1855 
he  married  Isabella  Osmundson,  who  died  in  1873. 
They  had  six  children,  one  of  whom  is  C.  F.  Han 
son,  113  State's  Attorney,  of  Morris,  Illinois. 


113  To  whom  I  am  indebted  chiefly  for  the  family  history.     Alex 
Hanson   lives   at   Ellsworth,    Iowa. 


CHAPTEE  XVII 

The  Settlement   of  Norway   and  Raymond   Town 
ships,  Racine   County.     The   Founders    of 
the    Settlement.     Immigration    to 
Racine  County  in  1841-1842. 

We  have  seen  how  in  the  fall  of  1839  the  Luraas 
brothers  established  a  colony  near  Lake  Muskego  in 
the  present  Waukesha  (then  Milwaukee)  County. 
The  locality  was  illy  selected,  being  low  and  marshy. 
It  was  in  the  first  place  unhealthy  and  the  settlers 
suffered  much  from  malaria.  Furthermore  it  was 
very  heavily  covered  with  timber  and  the  soil  which 
was  clay  yielded  but  small  returns  for  their  labor. 
The  settlers  therefore  found  it  difficult  enough  to 
make  a  living. 

As  early  as  the  next  spring  several  moved 
farther  south  into  Racine  County,  where  the  condi 
tions  were  more  favorable  and  where  a  thriving  set 
tlement  grew  up  in  a  few  years.  The  old  settle 
ment  ceased  to  become  the  objective  point  of  intend 
ing  emigrants  from  Telemarken.  After  the  cholera 
year  1849  most  of  those  who  survived  moved 
away.  114  The  southern  extension  of  the  settlement, 

114  The  editor  of  Billed-Magazin  writes,  page  eleven  of  volume  I, 
that  at  that  time  (1869)  Kittil  Lohner  and  his  brother  Halvor  Nilson 
Lohner,  from  Hjertdal,  Telemarken,  and  the  family  of  Gisle  Danielson, 
from  Skjold,  were  still  living  in  the  settlement.  The  rest  were  dead  or 
had  moved  away.  But  Knud  J.  Basckhus,  from  Hjertdal,  and  Ole 


156  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

which  took  its  root  at  Wind  Lake  in  Norway  Town 
ship,  later  spread  out  so  as  to  include  the  townships 
of  Yorkville,  Eaymond  and  Waterf  ord  all  in  Eacine 
County.  The  old  name,  * '  Muskego, ' '  was  retained  as 
the  designation  of  the  new  as  well  as  the  old  settle 
ment,  although  the  settlement  in  Eacine  County  is 
now  often  referred  to  as  "Yorkville  Prairie. "  It 
is  the  beginnings  of  this  settlement  to  which  I  shall 
now  turn. 

The  founders  of  the  settlement  at  Wind  Lake 
in  the  Town  of  Norway  were  Soren  Backe,  son  of 
Tolleff  0.  Backe  a  merchant  of  Drammen,  and 
Johannes  Johanneson.  The  latter  was  a  clerk  in 
the  employ  of  Tollef  Backe  of  Drammen,  whom  he 
latter  deputed  to  accompany  his  son  to  America. 
He  was  a  man  of  about  forty  years  of  age,  of  strong 
character  and  moral  principles.  He  had  some  knowl 
edge  of  the  English  language,  having  once  lived  for 
a  short  time  in  England.  Soren  Backe  was  a  young 
man,  evidently  of  little  promise,  whom  the  father 
sent  to  America  ostensibly  that  his  ambition  might 
be  kindled  by  American  opportunities  and  by  being 
placed  upon  his  own  responsibility.  In  company 
with  them  came  also  a  third  man,  of  whom  I  shall 
speak  again  in  a  later  chapter,  namely  Elling  Eielson 
Sunve  from  Voss,  a  lay  preacher  and  the  noted 
founder  of  the  "Ellingian"  sect  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  These  three  left  Drammen  in  the  summer 
of  1839,  and  arrived  in  La  Salle  County  in  the  fall 

Kjonaas,  from  Bo,  had  settled  west  of  the  colony  in  the  town  of 
Vernon. 


NORWAY  AND  RAYMOND  TOWNSHIPS       157 

of  that  year.  The  forest  land  had  all  been  taken  and 
was  now  occupied  by  settlers,  and  Johannesen  seems 
to  have  been  suspicious  of  the  prairie,  where  land 
could  still  be  had. 

A  contributor  to  the  Billed-Magazin  for  1869 
says  that  the  conditions  of  distress,  the  winter 
storms  and  the  extreme  cold  on  the  prairies  were 
the  things  that  influenced  them  to  seek  a  locality  for 
a  settlement  elsewhere,  and  that  they  did  not  go 
north  to  Kacine  County  until  the  spring  of  1840. 
He  says :  "  Early  the  next  spring  they  walked  north 
and  came  as  far  as  to  Wind  Lake,  where  there  was 
then  a  single  settler,  an  Irishman.  Here  in  the 
primeval  forest,  on  the  shores  of  the  little  lake  they 
had  found  what  their  hearts  desired;  and  they 
bought  the  piece  of  ground  which  the  Irishman  was 
cultivating,  and  Backe  chose  this  place  as  his  home." 
It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  K.  Langeland  in 
Nordmaendene  i  Amerika  says  that  they  remained 
in  La  Salle  County  only  a  few  weeks  and  went  north 
to  Wisconsin  that  same  fall  (page  forty- three).  11S 
Langeland  adds  further,  that  they  dug  a  cellar  in 
an  Indian  mound  in  which  they  lived  during  the 
winter. 

In  touching  upon  these  facts  in  my  article 
on  "The  Coming  of  the  Norwegians  to  Iowa"  116  I 
did  not  hesitate  to  accept  this  as  correct,  and  I  must 
now  adhere  to  this  view.  My  reason  is  that  as  early 

115  Professor    Anderson    accepts    unreservedly    the    authority    of 
Billed-Magazine  in  the  matter  and  decides  for  the  date  1840. 

116  In  The  Iowa  Journal  of  History  and  Politics,  1905,  page  360. 


158  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

as  the  middle  of  the  summer  of  1840  a  small  group 
of  emigrants  were  ready  to  leave  for  America  with 
the  view  of  settling  at  Wind  Lake,  having  received 
letters  from  Backe  and  Johannesen,  urging  them  to 
come  there.  Had  these  not  located  at  Wind  Lake 
before  the  spring  of  1840  the  time  would  have  been 
insufficient  for  the  second  party  at  Drammen  to 
have  not  only  received  word  from  America  but  also 
to  have  made  all  necessary  arrangements  prepara 
tory  to  emigrating.  I  assume  then  that  it  was  about 
December  1839  that  Backe  and  Johannesen  located 
in  Norway  Township.  I  am  inclined  to  think,  how 
ever,  that  Elling  Eielson  remained  in  the  Fox  Eiver 
Settlement  during  the  winter,  and  that  he  came  to 
Wind  Lake  in  the  spring  of  1840.  During  that 
spring  and  summer  the  brothers  John,  Torger,  Hal- 
vor,  and  Knut  Luraas,  with  their  families,  as  also 
Gjermund  Johnson  Kaasa,  located  in  Norway  Town 
ship.  Nelson  Johnson  Kaasa,  who  had  emigrated 
in  the  Luraas  party  in  1839,  remained  in  Milwaukee 
for  three  months  and  moved  to  the  settlement  in 
November,  1840. 

Among  the  immigrants  of  1837,  who  went  to 
the  ill-fated  Beaver  Creek  Settlement  in  Iroquois 
County,  Illinois,  was  Mons  K.  Aadland.  We  have 
already  observed  that  he  was  the  last  one  to  leave 
Beaver  Creek.  He  with  family  also  came  to  Eacine 
County  in  the  summer  of  1840.  He  however  select 
ed  a  locality  on  the  prairie  east  of  the  Indian 
mound,  buying  a  farm  of  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres 


NORWAY  AND  RAYMOND  TOWNSHIPS       159 

on  section  thirty  in  Raymond  Township.  This  part 
of  the  settlement  came  to  be  known  as  North  Cape. 
The  nucleus  of  the  later  extensive  settlement  had 
then  assumed  considerable  proportions  by  the  fall 
of  1840;  but  new  accessions  were  soon  to  come. 

Backe  and  Johannesen  decided  to  write  to 
friends  in  Norway  and  their  letters  were  productive 
of  results.  In  the  summer  of  1840  a  party  of  about 
thirty  persons  stood  ready  to  emigrate  to  the  settle 
ment  in  Wisconsin.  The  leader  of  these  was  Even 
Hanson  Heg,  the  keeper  of  a  hotel  at  Lier  in  Dram- 
men,  who  sold  out  his  property  and  with  his  wife 
and  four  children  came  with  this  party.  Other 
members  of  the  party  were:  Johannes  Evenson 
Skofstad,  Syvert  Ingebretson  Narverud,  Helge 
Thomson,  Ole  Anderson,  all  from  Drammen  and  all 
of  whom  had  families,  Ole  Hogenson  and  family 
from  Eggedal,  and  Knut  Aslakson  Svalestuen  from 
Vinje,  Telemarken.  All  these  came  to  Wind  Lake 
and  located  there  in  the  autumn  of  1840. 

Soren  Backe  seems  to  have  been  a  man  whose 
generosity  was  as  remarkable  as  his  lack  of  business 
ability.  His  father,  a  man  of  considerable  wealth, 
had  supplied  his  son  generously  with  funds  upon 
his  departure  for  America.  Soren  Backe  evidently 
loaned  money  very  liberally  to  those  of  his  country 
men  who  were  in  need,  and  there  were  many  of  these 
here  as  in  all  pioneer  communities.  It  is  said  that 
when  his  funds  were  used  up  he  made  a  journey  to 
Norway  for  more  money.  With  this  he  purchased 


160  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

land,  which  he  let  out  on  easy  terms  to  new  comers 
from  Norway.  It  was  Johannesen  who  had  charge 
of  these  transactions  in  which  it  seems  Even  Heg 
was  a  partner  with  Backe.  Johannesen  is  described 
as  a  devout  Christian,  a  zealous  adherent  of  the  Hau- 
gian  tendency,  and  in  every  way  a  noble  character. 
As  we  have  seen,  the  settlement  developed  rapidly, 
and  it  continued  to  grow  for  many  years.  Backe  and 
Johannesen  then  joined  partnership  and  started  a 
store;  for  this  purpose  an  Indian  mound  was  exca 
vated,  the  walls  were  sided  with  boards,  and  this 
structure,  which  was  partly  underground,  served  as 
store,  living  room  and  kitchen  combined.  Their  stock 
of  goods  was  shipped  from  Milwaukee,  itself  then  on 
ly  a  village  of  one  or  two  stores,  a  hotel  and  half  a 
dozen  pioneer  cabins.  Backe  and  Johannesen  con 
tinued  their  business  together  for  about  three  years 
when  Johannesen  fell  ill  and  died  (in  1845).  That 
same  year  Backe  returned  to  Norway  and  settled 
on  his  father's  farm  Valle,  in  Lier,  near  Drammen. 
Even  Heg  was  a  leading  spirit  in  the  settlement 
in  Norway  and  surrounding  townships  during  his 
life-time.  Much  has  been  written  about  him  and  I 
shall  not  here  repeat  the  eulogies  elsewhere  voiced 
in  his  honor.  After  Johannesen 's  death  it  was  Heg 
upon  whom  the  settlers  in  the  early  days  of  the  col 
ony  leaned  for  advice  and  it  was  Even  Heg  to  whom 
every  new  arrival  from  Norway  to  the  colony  came 
for  help  and  counsel.  His  hospitality  and  his  re 
sourcefulness  in  the  aid  of  his  compatriots  was 


NORWAY  AND  RAYMOND  TOWNSHIPS       161 

boundless.  Heg's  barn,  where  large  parties  of  im 
migrants  were  received  every  summer,  and  in  which 
they  were  permitted  freely  to  make  their  home  dur 
ing  the  first  weeks  after  the  long  and  arduous  jour 
ney,  is  famed  throughout  many  an  early  settlement 
in  Wisconsin,  Iowa  and  Minnesota.  The  log  cabins 
of  the  settlers  were  too  small  to  afford  the  neces 
sary  quarters  for  the  numbers  that  continuously 
flocked  in,  and  the  large  barn  was  a  boon  for  which 
they  were  truly  grateful.  For  a  time  Racine  Coun 
ty  became  the  objective  point  of  most  of  the  immi 
grants  from  Norway,  a  distinction  which  however 
it  was  soon  to  share  with  the  still  more  famous 
Koshkonong  Prairie  in  Dane  County,  Wisconsin. 

Of  Elling  Eielson  I  shall  speak  below,  as  also 
of  Hans  C.  Heg,  son  of  Even  Heg,  and  of  some  of 
the  other  Racine  County  pioneers.  I  wish  to  add 
here  a  few  words  of  Mons  Aadland,  who  as  we  recall, 
came  to  America  in  1837,  and  located  at  North  Cape 
in  1840.  Aadland  was  born  near  Bergen,  Norway,  in 
April,  1793,  being  thus  forty-four  years  old  when 
he  emigrated.  He  was  one  of  the  few  survivors  of 
the  Beaver  Creek  Colony  in  Illinois.  As  we  have 
seen,  he  is  the  founder  of  the  North  Cape  branch 
of  the  settlement.  There  he  lived  till  his  death  in 
1869,  his  wife  having  died  two  years  before.  A  set 
tlers'  history  says  of  him:  "He  was  a  man  of  gen 
erous  spirit,  as  is  shown  by  his  liberal  gifts,  and  one 
who  took  a  commendable  interest  in  public  affairs." 
Ten  years  before  his  death  he  owned  between  five 


162  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

and  six  hundred  acres  of  land  which  he  then  divided 
among  his  children.  Thomas  Adland  and  Knud 
Adland  both  of  Raymond  Township  are  his  sons, 
while  a  daughter,  Martha,  lives  in  Norway ;  the  other 
children  are  dead. 117  Mons  Aadland  was  a  nephew 
of  Nils  P.  Langeland  whom  we  have  spoken  of  above 
page  100. 

The  immigration  of  1841  was  not  extensive. 
Backe  and  Johannesen  do  not  seem  to  have  contin 
ued  their  propaganda  of  immigration ;  but  the  party 
who  came  with  Even  Heg  wrote  home  letters  full 
of  praise  of  the  New  World.  But  even  in  the  face 
of  such  tempting  exhortations  the  old  world  resident 
requires  time  for  thought  before  he  decides  to  bid 
farewell  to  the  home  of  his  fathers  and  seek  his  for 
tune  in  a  strange  and  distant  land.  I  am  not  aware 
that  anyone  came  from  Drammen  or  Telemarken  to 
Eacine  County  in  1841. 118  Knut  Eoe  and  wife  lo 
cated  in  Eacine  County,  however,  in  1841,  but  they 
came  from  La  Salle  County,  where  they  had  settled 
in  1839.  In  1842  there  were  several  arrivals.  Thus 
Hermund  Nilson  Tufte  with  wife  Kari  and  three 
daughters  came  from  Aal  Parish  in  Hallingdal.  This 

117  Mons  Aadland   had   a    sister   Malinda,   the  wife   of   Anders 
Nordvig,   who    came   to    America   in   the   same   ship   as   he.     Anders 
Nordvig  died  in  Beaver  Creek.     His  wife  moved  to  the  Fox  Eiver 
Settlement,   where  she   died,   ninety  years  old,  about   1892.     I  have 
above  written   the  name   Adland  as   it   came  to   be  written  in  this 
country. 

118  Nor  any  from  other  provinces,  for  Hermund  Tufte  who,  in 
Holand's  De  norske  Settlementers  Historic,  is  gaid  to  have  come  in 
1841,  did  not  come  before  1842. 


NORWAY  AND  RAYMOND  TOWNSHIPS       163 

was  the  first  family  to  emigrate  to  America  from 
that  province. 119  In  that  year  came  also  Aanund 
Halvorson  Bjoin,  wife  and  family  from  Tin,  Tele- 
marken,  and  John  Jacobson ;  further,  Halvor  Larson 
Lysenstoen  (Modum)  from  Hadeland,  Norway,  the 
first  immigrant  from  that  region,  and  Helge  Sigurd- 
son  and  wife  Bergit  Olsdatter,  who  however,  re 
moved  to  Dane  County  in  1844.  12°  John  J.  Dale 
from  Norway,  who  had  come  to  America  in  1837  and 
settled  in  La  Salle  County,  Illinois,  came  to  Racine 
in  1842;  his  wife  Anna  had  died  in  Illinois  in  1839. 
Another  of  the  immigrants  of  1839  came  to  Musk- 
ego  in  1842,  namely  John  Evenson  Molee.  He  had 
lived  in  Milwaukee  the  preceding  three  years ;  I 
shall  speak  of  him  below.  There  were  individual 
accessions  to  other  settlements  in  1841-42,  but  they 
are  few  in  number.  With  1843  the  immigration 
movement  receives  a  new  impulse,  but  the  discus 
sion  of  that  year  will  better  be  postponed  until  we 
have  recorded  the  founding  of  some  other  important 
settlements  in  1840-42. 


119  See  below  under  Eock  Prairie. 

120  The  Biographical  Review  of  Dane  County,  Wisconsin,  1893, 
page  239,  gives  1842  as  the  year  Seamon  A.  Seamonson  came  from 
Skien,  Norway,  to  Eacine  County,  his  wife  and  three  children  coming 
the  next  year   (see  later  chapter). 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  Establishment  of  the  Koshkonong  Settlement 
in  Dane  County,  Wisconsin. 

The  genesis  of  the  settlement  of  Koshkonong 
Prairie 121  in  Dane  County,  Wisconsin,  the  most 
noted  undoubtedly  of  all  Norwegian  settlements  in 
America,  dates  from  1840.  The  recital  of  this  event, 
however,  will  take  us  back  to  the  preceding  year; 
for  the  first  visit  of  Norwegians  to  Dane  County,  is,  I 
believe,  correctly  recorded  as  having  taken  place 
in  1839.  Before  discussing  the  first  coming  of 
Norse  pioneers  to  Koshkonong  I  shall  mention  a  few 
"  first  settlers "  in  Dane  County,  who  preceded  the 
Norwegians;  to  do  this  will  help  to  give  us  a  better 
idea  of  the  state  of  wilderness  which  they  found 
there,  and  which  they  in  a  few  years  transformed 
into  a  settled  and  thriving  community. 

The  townships  in  Dane  County  in  which  the 
Norwegians  settled  most  extensively  are  found  in 
three  groups,  viz. :  in  the  southeastern,  in  the  north 
ern  and  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county. 
The  first  of  these  comprises  originally  Albion, 
Christiana  and  Deerfield;  from  this  region  the  set 
tlement  soon  grew  into  Dunkirk  and  Pleasant 
Spring,  and  from  the  latter  north  into  Cottage 

121  In  reality  a  group  of  prairies. 


KOSHONONG  SETTLEMENT  165 

Grove. 122  On  the  east  it  extends  into  Sumner  and 
Oakland  townships  in  Jefferson  County.  This 
settlement  came  to  be  known  as  Koshkonong  Prai 
rie,  though  properly  the  name  applies  only  to 
the  two  first-named  towns  and  adjacent  portions  of 
Pleasant  Spring  and  Deerfield.  The  second  settle 
ment  includes  the  townships  of  Burke,  eastern 
Westport,  Vienna,  Windsor,  and  northwestern  and 
central  Bristol.  The  western  portion  of  this  settle 
ment  is  generally  known  by  the  name  of  the  Norway 
(or  Norwegian)  Grove  Settlement,  from  the  post- 
office  of  that  name  in  Vienna  Township  around  which 
it  lies.  In  its  northern  extremity  the  settlement  ex 
tends  into  Columbia  County,  northeast  into  Spring 
Prairie  and  Bonnet  Prairie  and  northwest  past  the 
village  of  Lodi.  This  whole  region  is  in  reality  a 
northern  extension  of  the  Koshkonong  Settlement.123 
It  is  also  from  four  to  eight  years  later  in  order  of 
formation.  124  Our  third  group  of  townships  com 
prises  Primrose,  Perry,  Springdale,  Blue  Mound 
and  that  part  of  Verona  Township  which  lies  east 
of  Blue  Mound  Creek. 125 

122  Later  Norwegians  settled  also  in  Blooming  Grove    (west  of 
Cottage  Grove)  and  in  Eutland   (west  of  Dunkirk),  but  they  always 
remained  here  a  minority  of  the  population.     On  the  north  the  settle 
ment  extends  also   into   southeastern   Sun   Prairie   and   southwestern 
Medina. 

123  But  Spring  Prairie  was  settled  slightly  earlier  than  Norway 
Grove. 

124  The  settlement  enters  the  Town  of  Dane  (northwestern  part) 
on  the  west. 

125  That   is,   excluding   the   southwestern   part   of   the   town   and 
sections  6,  7,  and  18  along  its  western  line. 


166  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

In  the  Town  of  Albion  the  Norwegians  were  the 
earliest  settlers,  for  some  of  them  came  as  early  as 
the  spring  of  1841,  as  we  shall  see  below.  The  His 
tory  of  Dane  County,  1880, 126  says,  page  838,  that 
Freeborn  Sweet,  from  New  York,  was  the  first  set 
tler  in  the  town;  and  yet  on  page  1189  we 
are  told  that  he  was  "one  of  the  first  set 
tlers/'  As  he  did  not  arrive  until  August  of  that 
year  he  clearly  was  not  the  first.  The  next  earliest 
American  settler  seems  to  have  been  Samuel  T. 
Stewart  of  Massachusetts,  who  located  on  section 
fourteen  in  the  fall  of  1841. 127  The  first  white  set 
tler  in  the  Town  of  Christiana  was  William  M.  May- 
hew  who  came  in  1837,  and  located  on  section  twen 
ty-eight.  The  next  arrivals  were  Norwegians  (see 
below) . 

The  first  settler  in  Pleasant  Spring  seems  to 
have  been  Abel  Rasdall,  who  located  his  cabin 
on  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake  Kegonsa,  about  half  a 
mile  south  of  the  inlet ;  the  year  of  his  arrival,  how 
ever,  cannot  be  given  definitely  and  I  am  not  able 
to  say  with  certainty  whether  he  preceded  Knut  H. 

126  A  work  which,  unfortunately,  contains  a  great  many  errors. 

127  In  the  spring  of   1842   Duty  J.   Green   and   Jesse   Saunders 
came,   both  from  Alleghany   County,   New   York;    they   settled   near 
Saunders'   Creek,   where   Albion   village   now   stands.     Saunders   had 
lived   one   year   in   Kock    County.     In    1842    also,    Samuel   Clarke   of 
Yorkshire,  England,  son  of  James  and  Judith  A.  Clarke,  arrived,  and 
located  on  Ablion  Prairie.     John  S.  Bullis,  Giles  Eggleston,  Lorenzo 
Coon,  and  Barton  Edwards,  came  in   1842,  C.  R.  Head  in  1843,  as 
also  Adin  Burdick,  and  in  1844  Job  Bunting,  L.  O.  Humphrey,  E.  P. 
Humphrey,  Henry  Job,  Samuel  Marsden,  and  James  Wileman. 


KOSHONONG  SETTLEMENT       167 

Eoe  (see  below)  or  not.  In  the  Town  of  Deerfield 
the  first  settlement  was  made  by  Norwegians  in 
1840 ;  as  we  shall  show  below ;  however,  Philip  Kear 
ney  had  erected  a  house  on  section  eighteen  in  1839 ; 
he  remained  the  only  American  there  for  several 
years. 

The  first  settlers  in  the  Town  of  Eutland  were 
Joseph  Dejean,  John  Prentice  and  Dan  Pond,  who 
located  in  its  southern  part  in  1842.  John  Nelson 
Luraas  may  have  been  the  first  settler  in  Dunkirk; 
he  came  in  1843,  and  was  followed  soon  after  by 
John  Wheeler, 128  Chauncey  Isham,  and  Mitchel 
Campbell.  In  the  towns  of  Cottage  Grove,  Burke, 
Windsor,  and  Bristol,  Americans  preceded  Norweg 
ians  by  several  years,  as  also  in  Blue  Mounds,  where 
Ebenezer  Brighani  located  as  early  as  1828,  or  some 
sixteen  years  before  that  part  of  the  county  actually 
became  settled. 

The  Township  of  Springdale  was  settled  first 
in  1844,  when  John  Harlow  entered  it,  he  re 
maining  the  only  white  man  there  for  a  year.  A 
few  Americans  came  in  1845,  then  Americans  and 
Norwegian  immigrants  in  1846.  An  American  set 
tlement  was  effected  by  Thomas  Lindsay  and  David 
Eobertson  in  the  Town  of  Bristol  (section  seven) 
two  years  before  Norwegians  came  there,  which 
was  in  1847.  The  earliest  settler,  however,  seems  to 
be  William  Gr.  Simons  who  entered  in  1838.  The 
first  white  settler  in  Perry  Township  was  John 

128  From  whom  Wheeler  Prairie  takes  its  name.     I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  Wheeler  preceded  Luraas   (see  below). 


168  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Brown  of  Indiana,  who  came  into  the  town  in  1846. 
A  few  other  Americans  (as  B.  K.  Berry  in  1847) 
preceded  the  Norwegians,  whose  coming  dates  from 
1848.  In  the  Town  of  Primrose,  Eobert  Spears  and 
family  were  the  first  comers  (1844) ;  a  few  other 
Americans  had  also  arrived  there  before  Christian 
Hendrickson  located  in  the  town  in  1846.  We  shall 
now  turn  to  the  events  that  led  to  the  establishment 
of  the  extensive  Norwegian  settlement  on  Koshkon- 
ong  Prairie  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  county. 

We  have  seen  that  most  of  the  immigrants  from 
Voss,  Norway,  who  came  in  1839,  located  either  in 
Chicago  or  in  La  Salle  County,  Illinois.  It  has  been 
observed  also  that  not  all  of  those  who  went  to  the 
Fox  River  region  located  there  permanently.  The 
land  here  was  now  mostly  taken,  besides  our  pio 
neers  from  Voss  did  not  like  the  prairie ;  they  were 
in  search  of  a  location  where  timber  and  water  was 
near  at  hand.  And  so  some  of  them  decided  to  try 
their  fortune  in  Wisconsin,  where  they  had  heard 
there  was  plenty  of  forest  land  with  many  lakes  and 
rivers. 

Our  party  from  Voss  had  been  in  La  Salle 
County  only  a  few  weeks,  when  three  of  them  de 
cided  to  go  and  investigate  for  themselves.  These 
three  were  Nils  Bolstad,  Nils  Gilderhus  and  Magne 
Bystolen.  They  engaged  Odd  J.  Himle  (who  had 
emigrated  from  Voss  in  1837),  then  living  in  Illinois, 
to  accompany  them  as  their  guide  and  interpreter. 
Bystolen,  being  taken  sick  and  thus  prevented  from 


KOSHONONG  SETTLEMENT        169 

going,  gave  instructions  to  the  rest  to  select  land 
for  him  if  the  region  was  satisfactory  to  the  rest. 
Bolstad,  Gilderhus  and  Himle  started  on  foot  for 
Milwaukee,  a  distance  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 
Having  arrived  there  in  safety,  they  procured  maps 
and  whatever  information  they  could  with  reference 
to  the  regions  that  were  open  to  settlement  in  the 
interior  of  the  state.  Then  they  walked  west  about 
eighty  miles  inspecting  the  land  on  the  way,  and 
after  two  weeks  reached  the  eastern  part  of  Dane 
County. 

The  spot  where  they  stopped  was  about  two 
miles  east  of  the  site  of  the  present  village  of 
Cambridge.  Here  a  man  by  the  name  of  Snell  had 
shortly  before  established  a  tavern  for  trappers  and 
frontiersmen;  with  him  our  party  of  homeseekers 
put  up,  and  from  him  they  received  instructions  as 
to  the  "government  markings"  of  the  sections  and 
the  stakes  placed  at  the  corner  of  sections  and  quar 
ter  sections,  giving  the  number  of  each. 

After  a  two  days'  rest  they  continued  their 
tramp  westward  to  Koshkonong  129  Prairie.  Himle, 
Gilderhus  and  Bolstad  inspected  the  whole  prairie 
from  one  end  to  the  other,  walking  about  for  two 
days.  Then  they  returned  to  Cambridge,  finally 
deciding  on  a  parcel  of  land  a  little  over  two  miles 
northwest  of  that  place,  lying  on  both  sides  of  the 
boundary  line  between  the  towns  of  Christiana  and 
Deerfield.  Here  Gilderhus  and  Bolstad  selected  for- 

129  The   prairie    takes    its    name    from    Koshkonong    Creek    (and 
Koshkonong  Lake). 


170  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

ty  acres  each,  and  forty  for  Bystolen.  This  locality 
was  chosen  because  of  its  abundance  of  hardwood 
timber,  and  besides  there  was  plenty  of  hay  on  the 
the  marshes  and  fine  fishing  in  Koshkonong  Creek 
near  by.  13° 

Having  thus  made  their  choice  of  land,  Gil- 
derhus,  Bolstad,  and  Himle  returned  to  Illinois  by 
way  of  Milwaukee,  walking  the  whole  distance ;  they 
remained  in  La  Salle  County  through  the  winter. 
Their  account  of  the  land  of  promise  which  they  had 
discovered,  aroused  much  interest,  and,  as  we  shall 
see  below,  brought  others  in  their  train  later.  Early 
in  the  spring  of  1840,  Gilderhus  and  Bolstad,  accom 
panied  now  by  Magne  Bystolen  and  also  Andrew 
Finno,  started  for  Koshkonong,  driving,  this  time, 
in  wagons  drawn  by  oxen.  They  arrived  there  at 
the  end  of  April  and  immediately  took  possession 
of  the  land  selected.  The  land  that  had  been  chosen 
for  Bystolen  was  inside  the  Christiana  Township 
line,  where  Anders  Finno  also  now  located.  Nils  Gil 
derhus  's  land  lay  within  Deerfield  Township ;  he  was 
the  first  Norwegian  to  locate  there.  He  built  a  log 
cabin,  which  was  the  first  house  in  the  town.  Nils 
Gilderhus  and,  I  believe,  Nils  Bolstad,  soon  after 
walked  to  Milwaukee  and  filed  their  claims  at  the 
government  land  office,  Nils  Gilderhus  being  the 
first  in  the  party  to  purchase  land.  The  date  of  the 

130  As  Mr.  Odland  points  out.  Odland  adds:  "They  were  all 
Vossings  and  to  emigrants  from  that  celebrated  district  in  Norway, 
therefore,  belongs  the  credit  of  founding  the  most  important  Nor 
wegian  settlement  in  America."  (Article  in  Amerika). 


KOSHONONG  SETTLEMENT        171 

purchase  is  May  sixth,  1840;  the  land  is  the  south 
half  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  thirty-five. 
Nils  Bolstad  entered  on  forty  acres  of  section  two 
in  the  Town  of  Christiana,  and  Magne  Bystolen's 
forty  acres  lay  directly  east  of  Bolstad 's  in  the  same 
section. 131 

Their  first  habitation  was  a  hurriedly  built 
log  cabin;  it  was  not  plastered,  and,  as  we  can  be 
lieve,  proved  inadequate  as  a  protection  against  win 
ter,  which  was  already  setting  in.  Here  they  expe 
rienced  the  intensest  suffering  from  cold,  132  until, 
the  condition  becoming  intolerable,  they  dug  out  a 
cellar  against  an  embankment,  where  they  lived  dur 
ing  the  remainder  of  the  cold  season.  In  this  "  dug 
out  "  Nils  Gilderhus  and  Magne  Bystolen  continued 
to  live  another  year,  but  Nils  Bolstad  erected  a  log 
cabin  in  1841,  when  he  married  Anna  Vindeig,  who 
was  the  first  white  woman  in  the  locality.  Gilder 
hus  erected  a  cabin  in  the  town  of  Deerfield  near  the 
Christiana  line  in  1842,  but  he  sold  out  in  1843  to 
Gulleik  Thompson  Saue;  for  further  facts  about 
these  men  see  below.  Andrew  Fenno  and  Odd  Himle 
did  not  purchase  land. 133 

We  shall  now  turn  to  the  two  other  groups  of 
settlers  on  Koshkonong  in  1840. 

131  Their  names  are  recorded  in  the  land  office  as  Nils  Seaverson, 
Nils  Larson  and  Magany  Buttelson. 

132  Qdland   writes:    when   they  had  finished   their   work  outside, 
they  were  obliged  to  lie  down  on  their  beds  and  cover  up  with  robes 
in  order  not  to  freeze. 

133  Himle  settled  some  years  later  at  Norway  Grove,  Dane  Coun 
ty. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

The  Settling  of  Koshkonong  by  Immigrants  from 

Nv  medal  and  Stavanger  in  1840.    Other 

Accessions  in  1841-1843 

Among  the  immigrants  who  came  from  Rollaug, 
Xumedal,  in  1S39.  was  Gunnnl  Olson  Vindeig, 
though,  as  we  have  seen,  he  did  not  come  in  Xatte- 
stad's  party.  Through  the  illness  of  a  child  he  was 
prevented  from  emigrating  with  Xattestad.  as  he 
had  intended.  Coming  later  in  the  year,  he  went 
via  Chicago,  directly  to  Jefferson  Prairie,  where  he 
remained  during  the  winter.  In  the  early  spring 
of  1840,  about  the  time  onr  Vos sings,  spoken  of 
above,  are  moving  north  to  locate  on  their  claims, 
Vindeig  built  or  bought  a  boat  at  Beloit,  and 
this  being  ready,  he.  with  a  companion,  Gjennnnd 
Knudson  Snnde,  rowed  north  along  the  Rock  River, 
np  Koshkonong  Lake  and  Koshkonong  Creek,  into 
the  Town  of  Christiana, 

That  the  journey  should  have  been  made  in 
a  boat  np  Rock  River  against  the  stream,  may 
sound  like  a  legend:  why  not  have  walked  this 
comparatively  short  distance  (about  forty  miles), 
just  as  Gilderhus  and  party  had  walked  the  much 
longer  distance  from  La  Salle  County?  The  Nor 
wegian  pioneers  were  good  walkers  and  seem  to 
have  loved  walking.  Vindeig  evidently  did  not. 


KOSHONONG  SETTLEMENT       173 

That  he  actually  navigated  up  stream  I  take,  how 
ever,  not  to  be  merely  a  local  or  family  legend,  for 
it  is  vouched  for  by  his  subsequent  neighbors  and 
comes  down  to  us  on  good  authority.  I  myself  vis 
ited  Ole  Gunnulson,  Vindeig 's  son,  who  is  still  re 
siding  on  the  old  homestead,  last  August  (1908),  and 
also  received  his  confirmation  of  the  route  his  father 
took  in  the  spring  of  1840.  Lars  Lier,  a  neighbor 
of  Ole  Gunnulson,  is  cited  by  Prof.  R.  B.  Anderson 
as  having  been  told  by  Gjermund  Sunde  himself, 
that  they  had  tied  the  boat  a  little  below  the  Anik- 
stad  ford,  where  the  Funkeli  bridge  was  afterwards 
built.  Evidence  comes  also  from  some  of  the  oldest 
pioneers  of  the  locality,  as  Halvor  Kravik  and  Jens 
P.  Vehus. 

Gunnul  Vindeig  and  Sunde  returned  soon  after 
to  Beloit,  as  they  had  come,  by  way  of  the  Rock 
River.  Thereupon  Vindeig,  with  his  wife,  Guri,  and 
two  sisters,  moved  from  Jefferson  Prairie  via  Milton, 
to  Koshkonong,  driving  in  a  covered  wagon,  and 
proceeded  to  take  possession  of  the  land  he  had  se 
lected.  He  soon  had  erected  a  cottage  of  one  room, 
with  an  attic  accessible  by  ladder.  134  The  land 
which  Vindeig  located  on  is  the  south  half  of  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  thirty-four.  There  he 
lived  until  his  untimely  death  by  accident  in  October, 
1846. 13S 

Gjermund     Sunde     selected     forty     acres     of 

134  Anderson's  First  Chapter,  page  338. 

135  He  was  killed  by  a  loaded  wagon  tipping  over  him. 


174  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

land  directly  north  of  Vindeig 's  home,  which  he 
later,  however,  sold  to  Ole  Lier.  The  land  which 
Vindeig  purchased  was  recorded  in  the  land  office 
at  Milwaukee  on  May  twenty-second,  1840,  just  six 
teen  days  after  the  purchase  by  Gilderhus  and  Bols- 
tad  was  recorded.  There  has  been  much  discussion 
as  to  whether  the  Vossing  party  or  Vindeig  built 
the  first  house  in  the  Town  of  Christiana.  Our  first 
group  of  settlers  had  selected  their  land  the  fall  be 
fore  and  came  north  in  April,  1840.  We  have  seen 
that  the  large  log-cabin  they  constructed  was  hastily 
and  poorly  built.  I  assume  that  either  they  all  to 
gether,  erected  this  immediately  upon  arriving  and 
taking  possession  of  their  claims  in  1840;  or  else, 
the  hewing  of  timber  and  the  erecting  of  the  cabin 
was  begun  by  the  two  who  remained,  while  Gilderhus 
and  his  companion  went  to  Milwaukee  to  file  their 
claims.  It  might  then  have  been  built  at  the  close 
of  April,  or  more  probably,  the  beginning  of  May. 
Now  Vindeig 's  purchase  was  recorded  May  twenty- 
second;  but  as  he  seems  to  have  gone  direct  from 
Jefferson  Prairie  to  Koshkonong,  he  evidently  had 
built  his  cottage  and  shelter  for  the  family  before 
he  started  for  Milwaukee.  There  can,  therefore, 
have  been  very  little  difference  in  time  between  the 
two.  Absolute  proof  of  the  priority  of  either,  it  is 
not  possible  to  obtain,  it  seems  to  me,  but  I  am  in 
clined  to  think  the  cottage  erected  by  Gilderhus, 
Bolstad,  and  party,  was  the  first. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  our  third  group  of  settlers, 


KOSHONONG  SETTLEMENT  175 

most  of  them  immigrants  from  Stavanger,  who 
were  living  in  La  Salle  County.  These  four  men 
were  Thorsten  Olson  Bjaaland,  Amund  Anderson 
Hornefjeld,  Bjorn  Anderson  Kvelve,  and  Lars  Ol 
son  Dugstad.  The  first  of  these  —  Bjaaland- 
had  come  in  the  sloop  in  1825 ;  he  is  the  only  slooper 
who  came  to  Wisconsin,  and  the  last  of  that  party 
whom  we  shall  meet  in  our  excursion  down  through 
the  years  of  immigration.  The  second  of  this 
group  was  also  from  the  Province  of  Stavanger,  be 
ing  born  on  the  Island  of  Moster  in  1806.  We  have 
seen  that  he  came  to  America  in  1836,  and  that  he 
had  settled  in  La  Salle  County,  where  he  lived  for 
four  years.  The  third  member  of  the  party,  Bjorn 
Kvelve,  we  have  also  met  with  among  the  arrivals 
of  1836;  he  had  been  living  mostly  in  Chicago  and 
La  Salle  County.  He  had  come  from  Vikedal  Parish 
in  Kyfylke.  Three  other  men,  Erick  Johanneson 
Savik,  Lars  Scheie,  and  Amund  Anderson  Kossaland, 
intimate  friends  of  Kvelve,  were  of  the  party,  but 
these  did  not  settle  on  Koshkonong. 

In  the  spring  of  1840,  these  seven  men  decided 
to  go  north  in  search  of  homesteads. 136  From 
Gilderhus  and  Bolstad  they  had  received  informa 
tion  of  Koshkonong  and  they  decided  also  to  go 
there  and  inspect  the  locality.  About  the  middle  of 

136  For  these  facts  I  acknowledge  indebtedness  chiefly  to  Prof. 
R.  B.  Anderson,  who  is  a  son  of  Bjorn  Anderson  Kvelve;  he  gives 
an  account  of  the  journey  of  these  men  on  pages  347-354  of  his 
book,  and  a  sketch  of  his  parents  pages  155-165;  see  also  page  171, 
and  245. 


176  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

May,  I  take  it,  they  started  on  foot  for  Wiscon 
sin.  The  way  led  by  Shabbona  Grove,  in  De  Kalb 
County,  through  Eockford,  Beloit,  Janesville,  and 
Milton.  They  crossed  the  Eock  Eiver  at  Good- 
rich's  Ferry,  now  Newville,  then  pushed  on  until 
they  reached  the  southern  line  of  Dane  County,  stop 
ping  in  the  Town  of  Albion,  near  Koshkonong 
Creek, 137  and  about  four  miles  north,  slightly  by 
east,  of  Lake  Koshkonong.  Here  they  found  coun 
try  that  suited  them  in  every  way.  Bjorn  Kvelve  is 
said  to  have  exclaimed:  "This  is  indeed  the  Land 
of  Canaan  I"  Here  woods  were  plentiful,  the  soil 
was  rich,  a  vigorous  winding  stream  teeming  with 
fish,  ran  near  by,  and  not  far  off  there  was  a  large 
lake. 

We  see  that  the  Stavangerings,  as  the  Voss- 
ings,  looked  for  wood  and  water ;  they  did  not  real 
ize  the  superior  advantages  of  the  prairie,  and  that 
it  would  yield  much  quicker  returns  for  their  labor. 
And  yet  there  was  good  reason  for  their  choice,  and 
we  shall  find  that  quite  often  the  early  Norwegian 
pioneers  located  in  a  woodland  tract  near  a  stream 
or  a  lake.  It  was  undoubtedly  an  inducement  to 
build  near  a  wood,  where  the  timber  for  the  usual 
log-cabin  was  near  at  hand,  and  it  was  highly  de 
sirable  to  locate  within  access  of  that  primary  neces 
sity  of  life,  water.  In  this  region,  then,  our  party 
selected  land.  Amund  Hornefjeld  chose  the  east 


137  Then  a  little  river;  now  it  is  almost  dried  out. 


KOSHONONG  SETTLEMENT        177 

half  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  one, 138  and 
Bjorn  Kvelve,  the  west  half  of  the  same  quarter 
section. 

Thorsten  Bjaaland  chose  eighty  acres  im 
mediately  north  of  Kvelve 's,  consequently  in  section 
two,  while  Lars  Dugstad  took  the  east  half  of  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  one.  Having  made 
these  selections,  139  they  walked  to  Milwaukee  to  file 
their  claims  and  perfect  their  purchase.  14°  This  is 
recorded  at  the  land  office  under  date  of  June  twen 
ty-second,  1840,  just  one  month,  therefore,  after  en 
try  was  made  of  Vindeig's  claim  in  section  thirty- 
four  in  Christiana,  the  next  township  and  section 
north.  Amund  Rossaland  selected  a  piece  of  land 
near  that  of  Bjorn  Kvelve,  but  he  was  later  informed 
that  it  had  already  been  taken;  141  so  Rossaland  did 
not  settle  on  Koshkonong,  but  went  to  Jefferson 
Prairie,  as  did  also  Lars  Scheie,  thence  again  else 
where. 

The  whole  party  then  returned  to  La  Salle 
County,  Illinois,  and  did  not  move  to  Albion  Town 
ship  and  take  possession  of  their  land  before  the 
spring  of  1841.  Erik  Savik  became  ill  upon  their 
return  to  La  Salle  County ;  when  he  was  asked  if  he, 

138  So  the  description  reads  but  the  Amund  Anderson  homestead 
is  the  east  half  of  the  northwest  quarter,  and  the  Kvelve  homestead 
is  directly  south. 

139  Thorsten  Bjaaland  and  Amund  Hornef  jeld  built  shanties  on 
their  land  before  leaving. 

140  Their  names  are  given  as:     Omund  Anderson,  Birn  Anderson, 
Lars  Olson,  and  Foster  Olson. 

141  It  was  soon  after  taken  possession  of  by  William  Fulton. 


178  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

too,  didn't  wish  to  go  along  to  Milwaukee  and  pur 
chase  land,  he  answered:  "I  think  I  can  get  a  bit 
of  ground  here  from  Ole  Middlepeint. " 142  His 
prophecy  proved  true,  for  he  died  there  in  June, 
1840.  Erik  Johanneson  Savik  and  wife,  Ingeborg, 
had  emigrated  from  Kvindherred  in  1836,  locating 
in  Eochester,  New  York.  A  son,  John,  was  born  to 
them  there  in  December,  1836.  The  following  year 
they  seem  to  have  removed  to  La  Salle  County,  Illi 
nois.  Their  daughter,  Anne  Berthe,  was  born  there 
in  November,  1838. 

Early  in  the  spring,  Kvelve  and  Bjaaland  moved 
to  Koshkonong  with  their  families,  following  the 
same  route  they  had  taken  before.  Bjaaland  drove 
a  yoke  of  oxen,  and  Kvelve  a  yoke  of  black  steers, 
which  were  not  yet  broke,  says  Arnold  A.  Ander 
son,  oldest  son  of  Kvelve,  and  who  was  in  the 
party;  both  teams  were  hitched  to  a  wagon  owned 
by  Kvelve.  Kvelve 's  family  consisted,  at  the  time, 
of  wife  and  four  children,  two  daughters  having  been 
born  since  the  arrival  in  America  in  1836. 143  Thor- 
sten  Bjaaland  (born  in  1795  in  Haa  Parish,  about 

142  That  is,  Ole  O.  Hetletveidt.    This  incident  is  related  in  Amer- 
ika  in  September,  1903;  the  words  were:  eg  faar  meg  nok  ein  Flaek 
Jord  her  hos  han  Ola  Meddlepeint. 

143  Arnold  Andrew  Anderson  was  born  in  Norway  in  1832.     The 
second  son  of  Kvelve,  Augustinus  Meldahl  Bruun,  was  born  in  1834. 
A  daughter  was  born  and  died  in  Eochester,  New  York,  where  the 
Kvelve  family  lived  1836-37.     Elizabeth  wag  born  in  La  Salle  County, 
Illinois  in  1837,  and  Cecelia  in  1840.     A  daughter,  Martha,  was  born 
in  Albion  Township  in  the  fall  of  1841,  being,  it  seems,  the  first  white 
child  born  in  the  town. 


KOSHONONG  SETTLEMENT        179 

thirty  [American]  miles  south  of  Stavanger,  Nor 
way)  was  still  unmarried  when  he  came  to  Dane 
County,  as  was  also  Lars  Dugstad.  The  latter  evi 
dently  came  north  from  La  Salle  County  about  the 
same  time  as  Kvelve  and  Bjaaland.  Amund  Horne- 
fjeld  married  Ingeborg  Johnson,  widow  of  Erik 
Savik,  in  La  Salle  County,  in  June,  1841,  and  he, 
with  wife  and  her  two  children,  came  north  to  Albion 
a  few  weeks  later. 

It  was,  therefore,  just  twelve  persons  who  locat 
ed  in  northeastern  Albion  Township  that  spring. 
The  Hornef jeld  family  moved  directly  into  the  shan 
ty  Amund  had  built  before  leaving  in  1840.  Dugstad 
made  a  dugout  on  the  side  of  a  hill  near  the  creek, 
in  which  he  continued  to  live  till  1855,  when  he  mar 
ried  and  moved  into  a  large  log-house.  Bjorn 
Kvelve  erected  a  log-house  on  his  farm  immediately 
upon  arriving  in  1841,  the  logs  having  been  cut  by 
men  engaged  to  do  so,  during  the  winter  of  1840-41. 
These  men  were  Lars  Kvendalen  and  Knut  Olson 
Vindeig.  We  shall  now  pass  to  the  account  of  their 
arrival,  and  that  of  others  who  came  in  1840-41. 


CHAPTER  XX 

New  Accessions  to  the  Koshkonong  Settlement  in 
1840-1841.     The  Growth  of  the  Settlement  in  1842. 

As  the  first  explorers  of  Koshkonong  from  La 
Salle  County,  Illinois,  in  1839,  attracted  others  in 
their  train  from  the  same  region  the  following  year, 
so  Jefferson  Prairie  and  Chicago  sent  new  recruits 
following  Gunnul  Vindeig  in  the  summer  of  1840. 
The  first  of  these  were  the  two  we  have  mentioned 
at  the  end  of  the  preceding  chapter,  namely,  Lars 
Kvendalen  and  Knud  Vindeig,  a  brother  of  Gunnul ; 
both  were  single  men.  They  came  there  early  in  the 
summer  of  1840,  and  met  in  Albion  Township  Bjorn 
Kvelve  and  Lars  Dugstad  before  these  had  left  for 
Milwaukee  and  Illinois  in  June,  1840.  Knud  Vin 
deig  and  Lars  Kvendalen  (the  latter  also  from 
Numedal)  came  to  America  in  the  fall  of  1839.  An 
other  brother  of  Gunnul,  namely  Hellik  Vindeig, 
and  two  sisters,  Berit  and  Anna,  came  to  America 
in  the  fall  of  1840.  As  said,  Kvelve  met  Knud  Vin 
deig  and  Kvendalen  in  Albion  Township  in  the  sum 
mer  of  1840,  and  he  engaged  them  to  split  rails  dur 
ing  the  winter  of  1840-41,  so  as  to  have  them  ready 
at  hand  when  he  should  come  there  to  locate  with 
his  family  in  1841. 144  These  two  men  did  not  take 

144  See  above,  page  179. 


KOSHONONG  SETTLEMENT       181 

land,  but  worked  for  a  time  for  others  in  the  settle 
ment. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  came  Hellik 
Vindeig  and  Nils  Kvendalen  (generally  called  Nils 
Hailing),  but  the  latter  did  not  remain  there  long. 
The  sister,  Anna,  married  Nils  Bolstad  in  1841  (see 
above,  page  171).  About  a  year  later  Berit  mar 
ried  John  G.  Smith,  a  man  who  played  a  role  as  both 
doctor  and  preacher  among  the  pioneers  in  the  for 
ties.  There  were  no  further  additions  to  the  south 
ern  part  of  the  settlement  in  the  fall  of  1840,  so  far 
as  I  know. 

Late  in  the  fall  of  that  year  Lars  David 
son  Eekve  145  came  to  Koshkonong  and  selected  land 
in  the  Town  of  Deerfield.  Entry  of  this  was  made  at 
Milwaukee  on  December  eighth,  1840;  the  land  was 
the  south  half  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
twenty-eight,  about  a  mile  south  of  Deerfield,  and 
two  miles  northwest  of  the  eighty  acres  selected  by 
Gilderhus  in  the  spring.  Together  with  Eekve  came 
also  Ole  K.  Gilderhus,  who  had  immigrated  from 
Voss,  Norway,  in  1839.  When  they  reached  Albion 
they  stopped  over  night  at  the  house  of  Thorsten 
Bjaaland,  who  had  not  yet  returned  to  Illinois  for 
the  winter.  Then  they  travelled  north  until  they 
came  to  the  place  where  the  four  settlers  from  Voss 
had  erected  a  log  cabin  the  spring  before.  Not  hav 
ing  the  means  wherewith  to  make  improvements  on 

145  L.  D.  Keque  is  still  living  in  Deerfield,  Dane  County,  Wis 
consin. 


182  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

his  land,  Eekve  soon  after  (summer  1841)  went  to 
Muskegon,  Michigan,  where  he  secured  employment 
in  a  sawmill.  He  did  not  settle  in  Dane  County  be 
fore  1842. 

If  now  we  pass  on  to  the  year  1841,  we  shall  find 
that  there  were  several  accessions  to  the  Koshkon- 
ong  settlement  in  that  year.  It  is  to  be  observed, 
first,  that  a  small  group  of  immigrants  came  from 
Voss  in  1841.  They  were:  Anders  Nilson  Lie,  with 
wife,  Gunvor  Sjursdatter  (Gilderhus),  and  two  chil 
dren,  Easmus  Grane,  Ole  Grane,  Kolbein  Vestreim, 
Nils  Vikje,  Lars  J.  Mon,  Knut  Larson  Boe,  and 
Anna  Solheim.  These  had  emigrated  with  a  small 
brig  that  carried  iron  to  Boston;  thence  they  went 
to  Eacine  County,  Wisconsin,  and  Koshkonong,  by 
the  usual  route.  John  Haldorson  Bjorgo,  who  had 
emigrated  from  Voss  in  1838,  as  we  have  seen,  also 
came  to  Koshkonong  in  the  spring  of  1841,  and  Ole 
Severson  Gilderhus  146  came  a  short  time  after.  The 
latter  had  emigrated  in  1840,  having  remained  in 
Chicago  during  the  winter.  Bjorgo  settled  in  the 
Town  of  Christiana  in  section  nine,  Ole  Gilderhus  a 
little  farther  north  in  Deerfield  Township.  "None 
but  Norwegians  were  then  living  in  these  regions," 
writes  Bjorgo  twenty-seven  years  later. 147  Bjorgo 
and  Ole  Gilderhus  had,  of  course,  arrived  before 
Anders  Nilson  Lie. 

During  the  first  winter  John  Bjorgo  lived  in 

146  A  brother  of  Nils  Gilderhus. 

147  Interview  printed  in  Billed-Magazin,   1869,  page  387.    Late 
in  the  summer  of  1841  a  few  Americans  came  and  settled  there. 


KOSHONONG  SETTLEMENT       183 

a  small  log-house;  his  nearest  white  neighbor  lived 
about  three  miles  away.  As  he  was  unmarried 
he  was  obliged  to  cook  and  do  all  his  own  house 
work.  Near  by  an  Indian  tribe  had  erected  a  camp, 
where  they  remained  from  that  fall  until  the  next 
spring.  Bjorgo  says  of  them  that  they  were  friend 
ly  and  neighborly,  and  he  never  suffered  inconven 
ience  because  of  them;  "they  were  often  my  guests, 
as  I  also  visited  them,  and  it  never  occurred  to  me 
to  have  any  fear  of  the  son  of  the  desert.  Nor  did 
they  ever  give  me  cause  for  that;  for  they  were 
peaceful  and  gladly  shared  their  meagre  supplies 
with  those  who  needed  their  help.  148 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  party  of  eleven  persons 
who  came  with  Anders  Lie.  The  son,  Nils  A.  Lie, 
Deerfield,  Wisconsin,  writes  that  after  a  long  and 
trying  voyage  they  arrived  in  Boston  whence  they 
went  to  Racine,  arriving  there  in  December. 
There  they  hired  two  Swedes  to  take  them  to 
Muskego,  where  the  Lie  family  and  one  other  fam 
ily  stopped  with  Even  Heg.  Lie's  destination  was 
the  home  of  his  brother-in-law,  Nils  Gilderhus,  in 
Dane  County.  Leaving  his  family,  he  soon  after 
set  out  on  foot  for  Koshkonong,  not  meeting  anyone 
he  could  speak  with  before  he  reached  Fort  Atkin 
son.  Here  an  American  took  him  across  the  Rock 
River  in  a  canoe,  and  by  waiting  there  a  day  he  was 

148  John  Bjorgo  died  in  October,  1868;  his  wife,  Martha,  died 
in  May,  1898.  They  are  both  buried  in  West  Koshkonong  Cemetery, 
as  Rev.  G.  G.  Krostu  of  Utica,  Wisconsin,  informs  me. 


184  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

joined  by  two  immigrants  from  Numedal, 149  who 
walked  with  him  as  far  as  Koshkonong.  Thence  he 
continued  north  to  his  brother-in-law's  place  in  Deer- 
field  Township.  We  have  seen  that  Nils  Gilderhus 
made  a  dugout  early  in  the  winter  of  1840-41,  having 
found  the  cabin  they  had  built  in  the  spring  too  cold. 
In  this  dugout  Anders  Lie  and  family  15°  also  lived 
during  the  winters  of  1841-42  and  1842-43.  In  the 
meantime  Anders  Lie  worked  for  others,  saving  up 
all  he  could  with  a  view  to  buying  a  home  for  him 
self. 

In  1843  he  bought  forty  acres  farther  west 
in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  town  of  Pleasant 
Spring,  becoming  the  first  Norwegian  to  settle  in 
that  township ;  selling  this  out  in  the  fall  of  1844  to 
Peder  Gjerde,  he  located  on  section  thirty-two  in 
Deerfield  Township,  where  he  lived  most  of  the  time 
till  his  death  in  1907. 1S1 

Just  how  long  the  rest  of  Anders  Lee's  party 
remained  in  Muskego  I  am  not  able  to  say  at  this 
moment.  Nils  Lie  writes  in  1902  that  they  all  came 
to  Koshkonong,  and  I  accept  that  as  authoritative; 

149  These  may  have  been  Hellik  Vindeig  and  Nils  Kvendalen. 

150  The    family   being    sent    for   soon    after  j    his   wife,    Gunvor 
Sjursdatter,   was   born   in    1805;    the   children   were    Martha    (born 
1838)  and  Nils  (born  1841). 

151  After  his  wife's   death  he  lived  some  years  in   North  and 
South  Dakota.     Anders  Lee  was  born  in  1814,  and  attained  there 
fore  to  the  good  old  age  of  ninety-two.     His  wife  died  in  1876 ;  they 
were  married  three  years  before  leaving  Norway.     Anders  Lee  left 
three  sons,  Nils  A.  in  Deerfield,  Sever  Lee  in  Grafton,  N.  D.,  and 
Andrew  Lee  of  Washington  County,  N.  D. 


KOSHONONG  SETTLEMENT  185 

but  I  may  add  that  the  names  of  Grane,  Vikje,  Ves- 
treim,  Mon,  or  Boe,  do  not  appear  in  the  roll  of  mem 
bers  of  Eeverend  J.  W.  C.  Dietrichson's  church  in 
Koshkonong  for  the  years  1844  to  1850,  which  is 
elsewhere  published  in  this  volume.  Nor  have  I 
been  able  to  trace  them  in  the  towns  of  Christiana 
or  Deerfield  in  the  years  1842  to  1844.  They  do  not 
appear  as  purchasers  of  land,  and  probably  left  for 
other  regions  soon  after  coming  to  Koshkonong. 
One  member  of  the  group  who  came  from  Voss  in 
1839,  with  Ole  K.  Gilderhus  and  others,  did  soon 
after  come  to  Koshkonong,  however,  namely,  Knut 
Brsekke.  He  and  his  wife  located  in  Deerfield  Town 
ship  in  1843 ;  it  was  he  who,  in  1844,  bought  the  large 
log-cabin  built  by  Nils  Gilderhus  in  1840.  He  then 
removed  it  farther  southeast  (in  the  same  town), 
where  later  it  became  the  property  of  Erik  Lee, 
the  father  of  Andrew  E.  Lee,  of  South  Dakota. 152 
There  were  also  several  accessions  from  Nume- 
dal  in  1842.  The  first  of  these,  I  believe,  were  Jens 
Pederson  Vehus,  from  Nore  Annex  of  Eollaug  Par 
ish,  Numedal,  and  Thore  Knudson  Nore  and  sons, 
Knut,  Lars,  Ole  and  Sapbjorn,  also  from  Nore. 1! 
With  them  came  also  Halvor  Funkelien,  a  native  of 
Kongsberg.  Jens  Vehus  was  a  brother  of  Gunnul 
Vindeig's  wife.  All  three  of  these  came  directly 
from  Norway.  Jens  Vehus  settled  about  three-quar 
ters  of  a  mile  southeast  of  Gunnul  Vindeig,  on  the 

152  Andrew  E.  Lee  \vas  governor  of  South  Dakota  from  1896-1900. 

153  There  Nore  located  across  the  Jefferson  County  line. 


186  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

north  half  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  thirty- 
five.  Later  in  the  summer,  and  in  the  fall,  this  local 
ity  received  new  recruits  from  Numedal,  who  came 
for  the  most  part  directly  from  Norway  via  New 
York,  Milwaukee,  and  Muskego,  to  Koshkonong. 
Others  came  from  Chicago,  La  Salle  County,  and  Jef 
ferson  Prairie,  principally  to  the  towns  of  Christiana 
and  Deerfield. 

Among  the  immigrants  from  Numedal  who 
located  there  later  in  the  year  of  1842  were: 
Ole  Helgeson  Lien,  wife  Turi, 1S4  and  children,  Bar- 
bro  and  Ole,  from  Nore;  Niels  Olson  Smetbak,  wife 
Barbro  Olsdatter,  and  family,  from  Nore;  Mrs.  Ole 
Bakli  (BagrJey),  widow,  and  her  son,  Ole,  from 
Flesberg;  Bjorn  Guldbrandsen  Morkvold,  wife  As- 
bjor  and  son,  Guldbrand;  Hellik  Gunderson  Hvas- 
hovd  and  wife,  Marit,  from  Flesberg;  Hellik 's  par 
ents,  Gunder  Gunderson  Hvashovd  and  wife,  Kirsti ; 
Mari  Guldbrandsen  (cousin  of  Gunnar  Hvashovd) 
and  her  daughter,  Kristi  (born  Krist  offer  sen 
1826) ;  Herbrand  Tollefson  Morkvold  and  son,  Ole, 
and  daughter,  Eagnild ;  Torstein  Levorsen  Bergrud, 
wife  Kirsti  Gunder sdatter  (born  Hvashovd)  and 
son,  Levor,  from  Flesberg;  Thore  Olson  Kaasa, 
wife  Anne  Torsteinsdatter,  and  daughter  Aslau, 
from  Eollaug;  Ole  Amundson  Buind,  wife  Helene 
(Brandt),  and  daughter  Anne,  from  Flesberg; 
Gjertrud  Olsdatter  Saelabakka  (born  1822),  from 

154  Turi  Lien,  whose  maiden  name  was  Smetbak,  was  born  in 
1811;  she  died  in  1899;  Ole  Lien  died  in  1850;  the  widow  then 
married  Lars  T.  Nore. 


KOSHONONG  SETTLEMENT        187 

Rollaug;  Juul  Gisleson  Hamre  (born  1805), 
with  wife  Anne  Gundersdatter,  and  children, 
Gisle,  Kjersti,  and  Gunder,  and  his  sister,  Anne 
Gislesdatter,  from  Flesberg  (born  1797) ;  Hellik  Hel- 
liksen  Foslieiet  (born  1812),  his  wife  Sigrid,  and 
children,  Hellik  (born  1833),  Anders  (born  1835), 
Marit  (born  1838),  Ckristoffer  (born  1841). 15S 

Of  those  mentioned  here  the  Hvashovd,  Hamre, 
and  Bergrud  families,  Mari  Gulbrandsen  and  her 
daughter,  Christi,  and  one  or  two  more,  nineteen  in 
all,  left  Flesberg,  Numedal,  in  May  and  arrived  in 
Muskego  in  October.  Here  they  stopped  two  or 
three  weeks  with  Even  Hegg,  whose  wife  was  a  rela 
tive  of  Mari  Gulbrandsen.  Some  early  settlers  on 
Liberty  Prairie  (Koshkonong)  took  their  baggage 
to  Koshkonong  while  the  immigrants  walked.  These 
facts  are  told  me  by  Reverend  K.  A.  Kasberg  of 
Spring  Grove,  Minnesota,  as  related  by  his  mother- 
in-law,  Mrs.  Halvor  Kravik,  who  was  in  the  party 
(she  was  Kristi  Kristoffersen).  She  relates  also 
that  "in  the  spring  (hence  1843)  she  and  her  mother 
walked  to  Madison  to  get  work.  There  was  only  one 
house  on  the  whole  road,  that  of  an  American  family  ; 
but  their  friendly  'come  in,  come  in'  (Norwegian 
kom  ind,  horn  ind,  but  pronounced  alike)  was  easily 
understood.  Here  we  were  well  entertained  over 
night.'7 

From  Telemarken  the  following  came : 156  Rich- 

155  The  daughters  Christine  and  Sigrid  were  born  in   1842   and 
1844. 

156  Many  of  these  located  in  the  eastern  and  northern  part   of 
the  settlement  a  year  or  two  later. 


188  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

ard  Bjornson  Botkjon  (born  1816),  and  brother  As- 
lak  (born  1826),  from  Vinje;  Torstein  Torsteinson 
Gaarden,  from  Tin;  Ole  Holjeson  Yttreboe,  with 
wife,  Margit,  and  children,  Johanne  and  Anne,  and 
Halvor  Hansen  Dalstiel  (Dalastol),  from  Hvideseid; 
Ole  Torsteinson  Aasnes,  wife,  Ingeborg,  and  daugh 
ter,  Hsege,  from  Vinje ;  Ole  Gulliksen  Barstad  (born 
1791),  wife,  Ingeborg  Jonsdatter  (born  1799),  and 
children,  Vetle,  Eivind,  and  Halvor,  from  Siljord; 
Ole  Olson  Haugan,  from  Siljord;  Torbjorn  Havre- 
dalen,  wife,  Lisa,  and  family,  from  Vinje  ;157  and  Gun- 
hild  Saamundsdatter  (born  1798),  from  Laurdal. 
Furthermore  Guro  Olsdatter  (born  1821),  from 
Nissedal,  and  Thomas  Johnson  Landeman  (born 
1804),  from  Sandsvaerd;  and  Torbjorn  Havredalen 
with  wife,  Lisa,  and  family,  also  came  to  Koshkonong 
that  year. 

The  great  majority  of  these  made  the  town  of 
Christiana  their. first  stopping  place.  So  that,  by 
the  end  of  1842,  there  were  perhaps  more  immigrants 
found  together  within  the  area  of  that  township  than 
in  any  of  the  other  settlements  founded  during  the 
preceding  years,  1839-1840. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  question  of  a  name 
for  the  new  town  was  being  mooted.  Gunnul  Vin- 
deig  was  given  the  privilege  of  naming  it,  and  he 
decided  for  Christiania,  adopting  the  name  of  the 
capital  of  Norway.  The  form  as  it  came  to  stand, 

157  Who  located  in  Town  of  Deerfield.  Some  of  theee,  as  Dalstiel, 
left  Koshkoning  a  few  years  later. 


KOSHONONG  SETTLEMENT       189 

however,  would  seem  to  be  a  typical  instance  of  that 
slovenly  habit  of  slurring  syllables  in  foreign  names, 
which  so  often  appears  in  the  records  of  American 
officials  or  clerks  in  land  offices  in  those  days.  Yet 
the  Billed-Magazin  is  authority  for  the  statement 
that  Gunnul  Vindeig  himself  was  the  cause  of  the 
error,  he,  by  mistake,  writing  Christiana  instead  of 
the  correct  Christiania. 

In  the  meantime  new  colonies  are  springing  up 
elsewhere  and  the  settlements  previously  established 
are  growing  and  thriving.  Before,  therefore,  trac 
ing  the  further  development  on  Koshkonong  Prairie, 
it  will  be  in  order  to  note  the  advance  in  other  lo 
calities. 


CHAPTEE  XXI 

The  First  Norwegian  Settlement  in  Iowa,  at  Sugar 
Creek,  in  Lee  County 

The  same  year  that  records  the  genesis  of  the 
Koshkonong  Settlement,  also  registers  the  founding 
of  the  earliest  Norwegian  colony  in  Iowa,  that  of 
Sugar  Creek,  in  Lee  County,  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  the  state.  When  Kleng  Peerson  was  on  his 
way  to  Missouri  in  1837  (see  above,  page  117),  it 
seems  that  he  passed  through  the  southeastern  cor 
ner  of  Iowa ;  he  was,  therefore,  in  all  probability  the 
first  Norwegian  to  enter  the  State  of  Iowa. 158  Iowa 
had  been  organized  as  a  territory  in  1838.  The  set 
tlers  in  Shelby  County,  Missouri,  were  dissatisfied, 
and,  having  heard  of  the  natural  resources  of  the 
Territory  of  Iowa,  immediately  to  the  north,  and  that 
good  land  with  a  near  market 159  could  be  had  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  territory,  they  decided  to 

158  Though  not  the  first  Scandinavian,  for  a  Dane,  Niels  Christian 
Boye,    came   to   Muscatine,    Iowa,   in    1837.     In    1842   he    located   in 
Iowa  City;  a  daughter,  Julia  Boye,  the  only  surviving  member  of  the 
family,  lives  now  in  Iowa  City. 

159  One  of  the  settlers  in  Shelby  County,  Missouri,  was  Peter 
Omundson    Gjilje.     As    an    illustration    of    the    state    of    wilderness 
of  the  country  around  them  it  is  related  that  Gjilje  once  walked  for 
nine  whole  days  in  the  forest  tract  before  he  found  human  habitation. 
One  morning  early  he  heard  a  cock  crow,  and  then  he  found  people. 
During  these  days  he  had  lived  on  wild  strawberries.     These  facts 
are  related  by  Mr.  B.  L.  Wick  of  Cedar  Kapids,  Iowa. 


FIRST  SETTLEMENT  IN  IOWA  191 

move  to  Iowa.  Going  north  into  Lee  County,  Iowa, 
they  located  at  a  place  six  miles  northwest  of  Keo- 
kuk,  known  as  Sugar  Creek.  Andrew  Simonsen  and 
most  of  the  settlers  in  Shelby  County  came  at  that 
time;  but  Peerson  remained  in  Missouri.  Here, 
however,  they  found  a  small  colony  of  Norwegians 
who  had,  it  seems,  but  recently  established  them 
selves.  With  the  exception  of  one  to  be  mentioned 
below,  it  is  not  known  who  these  earlier  settlers 
were,  and  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  where 
they  came  from. 

Kleng  Peerson  has  been  accredited  with  being 
the  founder  also  of  the  Sugar  Creek  Settlement,  but 
there  is  no  proof  that  he  previously  selected  the  site 
or  even  that  he  located  there  in  1840.  Indeed  the 
evidence  goes  rather  to  show  that  he  never  actually 
settled  at  Sugar  Creek.  His  home  in  the  following 
years  was  probably  chiefly  in  Shelby  County,  Mis 
souri  ;  in  1847  he  sold  his  land  there  and  joined  the 
Swedish  colony  in  Henry  County,  Illinois,  which  had 
been  founded  in  1846.  Nor  does  it  seem  to  me  that 
Hans  Barlien  was  a  member  of  the  Missouri  colony, 
as  Professor  Anderson  suggests.  No  mention  of 
Barlien  can  be  found  in  connection  with  the  Shelby 
County  colony  or  any  other  settlement.  It  seems 
more  probable  that  he  went  to  the  Fox  River  Settle 
ment  when  he  came  from  Norway  in  1837,  but  with 
a  few  others  left  in  1840,  coming  to  Lee  County  some 
what  before  the  party  that  came  with  Andrew  Si 
monsen  from  Shelby  County.  They  may  originally 


192  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

have  received  their  knowledge  of  this  locality  from 
Peerson.  Barlien  himself  may  have  been  in  La  Salle 
County  when  Peerson  in  1837  returned  from  his 
journey  to  Missouri.  It  was,  then,  Barlien  and  a 
few  immigrants  with  him  whom  Andrew  Simonsen 
and  others  from  Shelby  County  found  already  settled 
at  Sugar  Creek  in  the  spring  of  1840.  If  this  is 
correct  then  the  first  Norwegian  settler  in  Iowa  and 
the  real  founder  of  the  first  Norwegian  colony  in 
the  state  is  Hans  Barlien,  who  was  born  at  Over- 
halden  in  the  province  of  Trondhjem  about  1870. 

In  1838  Kleng  Peerson  went  to  Norway  to  gath 
er  recruits  for  the  Shelby  County  colony;  the  fol 
lowing  year  he  brought  back  with  him  from  Stavan- 
ger  County  the  three  brothers,  Peter,  William,  and 
Hans  Tesman,  Nils  Olson,  Ole  Eeierson  and  family, 
and  six  or  seven  women,  all  of  whom  came  to  Mis 
souri  ;  but  several  of  these  went  to  Lee  County,  Iowa, 
the  following  year. 

As  far  as  known,  the  first  settlers  who  came 
with  Andrew  Simonsen  from  Missouri  were :  Omund 
Olson,  Knud  Slogvig,160  Jacob  0.  Hetletvedt,  Mrs; 
Thorstein  T.  Rue  and  her  sons,  Thorstein  and  John, 
Peter  Omundson  Gjilje,  Erik  Oie,  Ole  Oiesoen,  and 
the  three  Tesman  brothers;  some  of  the  rest  seem 
to  have  followed  later.  Lars  Tallakson  settled 
there  about  the  same  time,  but  he  came  from  Clark 
County,  Missouri,  where  he  had  located  in  1838. 

160  Jacob  Slogvig  was  also  among  the  first  settlers;  he  had  re 
turned  from  Shelby  County,  Missouri,  to  La  Salle  County,  in  1838, 
as  also  had  Andrew  Askeland. 


FIRST  SETTLEMENT  IN  IOWA  193 

Gjermund  Helgeson  161  was  also  among  the  earliest 
settlers,  and  Jacob  Slogvig,  who  had  gone  back  to  La 
Salle  County  in  1838,  likewise  later  located  at  Sugar 
Creek.  Among  the  subsequent  arrivals  were  Ole 
Soppeland,  Hans  William,  C.  Person,  and  Nils  and 
Christ  Nelson;  these  located  there  before  1846. 

The  leading  spirit  in  the  colony  was  undoubtedly 
Hans  Barlien.  He  was  a  man  of  great  natural  en 
dowment,  and  he  had  a  fair  education.  In  Norway 
he  had  been  a  pronounced  nationalist  of  the  Werge- 
land  direction  and  had  taken  part  in  the  first  peasant 
uprising.  He  was  for  a  time  a  member  of  the  Stor 
thing  (the  national  parliament).  In  religion  he  was 
a  liberal,  which  aroused  the  hostility  of  the  clergy, 
while  his  radical  political  views  called  forth  the 
enmity  of  the  official  class.  He  owned  a  printing 
establishment  at  Overgaarden,  and  published  a 
paper  162  in  which  he  did  not  hesitate  to  give  expres 
sion  to  the  principles  for  which  he  stood.  This  fre 
quently  involved  him  in  litigation ;  and,  feeling  him 
self  persecuted,  he  at  last  decided  to  emigrate  to 
America  in  1837. 163  Barlien  seems  to  be  the  sec 
ond  Norwegian  emigrant  from  Trondhjem. 164  Lars 
Tallakson  came  from  Bergen,  while  the  rest  of  the 

161  Helgeson  may  have  come  with  Barlien  from  Illinois. 

162  MelTceveien,  the  Milky  Way. 

163  See  J.  B.  Wist,  in  Bygdejaevning,  Madison,  Wisconsin,  1903, 
p.  158;   also  First  Chapter  of  Norwegian  Immigration,  pp.  235-236, 
and  Kepublilcaneren,  February  9,  1900. 

164  The  first  was  Ole  Eynning.     See  above,  p.  107,  and  Normaend- 
ene  i  America  by  Knud  Langeland,  pp.  26-29. 


194  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

colonists  were  mostly  from  the  region  of  Stavanger. 

Lee  County  was  but  little  settled  at  that  time ; 165 
land  was  bought  of  the  Indians  for  a  nominal  price, 
but  it  often  became  expensive  enough  in  the  end, 
since  it  proved  very  difficult  for  many  of  the  settlers 
to  obtain  a  clear  title  from  the  United  States.  This 
is  one  reason  why  the  settlement  did  not  grow, 
though  probably  not  the  chief  cause.  In  1843  there 
were  between  thirty  and  forty  families,  writes  John 
Eeierson, 166  but  in  1856  there  were,  according  to  the 
census  of  that  year,  only  sixty-eight  Norwegians  in 
the  county.  This  number  had  in  1885  decreased  to 
thirty-one.  In  the  fifties  many  of  the  settlers  moved 
to  other  localities,  but  throughout  the  forties  there 
was  a  prosperous  colony  that  contributed  not  a  little 
to  the  development  of  the  community  and  the  county 
in  that  early  period.  .  The  settlement  is  of  special 
interest  in  that  it  was  the  first  Norwegian  settle 
ment  in  Iowa.  Its  founding  inaugurated  Norwegian 
colonization  in  the  state  which,  particularly  in  the 
fifties,  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a  score  of 
extensive  settlements  in  the  central  and  the  northern 
counties. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  the  Sugar  Creek 
Settlement  did  not  grow  as  did  the  later  settlements 
north  and  west.  First  of  all,  land  was  not  of  the 
best  in  Lee  County.  And  then,  the  locality  was  rath 
er  too  far  south,  Norwegians  have  everywhere  in 

165  The  first  postoffice  was  established  in  Lee  County  in  1841. 

166  Veiviser  for  Emigranter,  1843. 


FIRST  SETTLEMENT  IN  IOWA  195 

America  thriven  best  in  the  more  northerly  local 
ities.  Again,  the  tide  of  emigration  from  the  vicin 
ity  of  Stavanger  was  not  sufficiently  heavy  to  re 
cruit  the  various  settlements  already  established  by 
immigrants  from  that  region.  The  majority  of  those 
who  came  went  direct  to  the  Fox  Eiver  Settlement- 
in  Northern  Illinois,  which  offered  unsurpassed  nat 
ural  advantages.  To  be  sure,  the  Shelby  County 
(Missouri)  and  the  Lee  County  settlements  might 
have  been  recruited  from  other  districts  in  Norway. 
But  it  must  be  remembered  that  such  other  districts 
as  had  begun  to  take  part  in  the  emigration  move 
ment  had  their  attention  directed  just  at  this  time 
in  another  direction.  The  other  provinces  in  ques 
tion  are  Voss,  Telemarken,  and  Numedal.  It  was 
representatives  of  these  that  founded  the  Wisconsin 
settlements  in  1839-40,  and  in  them  the  great  major 
ity  of  immigrants  from  those  provinces  located  in 
the  following  decade.  This  is  also  true  of  those 
who  came  from  Hardanger,  Sogn,  167  and  from  West 
ern  Norway  in  general. 

There  is  still  another  reason  why  the  colony  did 
not  grow.  Beyond  the  common  desire  of  material 
betterment,  there  was  too  little  of  community  of  in 
terest.  It  is  enough  to  mention  that  several  differ 
ent  religious  sects  were  represented  in  the  little  set 
tlement,  chief  among  which  were  the  Quakers  and 
the  Latter  Day  Saints.  Just  across  the  Mississippi 

167  Immigration  from  Sogn  was  at  first  directed  almost  exclu 
sively  to  Boone  County,  Illinois,  and  Dane  County,  Wisconsin. 


196  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

was  the  town  of  Nauvoo, 168  which  was  a  Mormon 
center  at  the  time.  When  the  Mormons  who  did 
not  believe  in  polygamy  established  themselves  at 
Lamoni  some  years  later,  many  Norwegians  of  that 
belief  went  with  them. 169  And  not  a  few  of  the 
Quakers  joined  American  Quaker  settlements  far 
ther  north,  as  in  Salem,  Henry  County.  17°  In  the 
later  fifties  a  prosperous  colony  was  founded  at  and 
south  of  Legrand  in  Marshall  County.  A  few  of 
the  early  pioneers,  however,  remained  and  their  de 
scendants  live  in  Lee  County  to-day.  Finally,  the 
difficulty  of  securing  a  title  to  the  land  upon  which 
many  Norwegians  had  settled,  to  which  reference 
has  been  made  above,  undoubtedly  drove  many  to 
seek  homes  elsewhere.  m 

Of  these  first  Norwegian  pioneers  in  Iowa  I  shall 
here  add  a  brief  final  note,  as  we  shall  not  meet  with 
them  again.  We  have  met  the  brothers  Knud  and 
Jacob  Anderson  Slogvig  four  times  as  the  founders 
of  settlements  —  in  Orleans  County,  New  York,  in 

168  In  the  Fox  Eiver  Settlement  in  Illinois  many  Norwegians 
joined  the  Mormons  and  later  moved  to  Utah.     Bishop  Canute  Peter 
son  was  one  of  these. 

169  The  Mormons  first  moved  into  Iowa  in  1839,  having  received 
assurance  of  protection  and  the  liberty  to  practice  their  belief  from 
Governor  Lucas  in  that  year.     They  located  in  Lee  County  not  far 
from  Sugar  Creek.     The  town  of  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  had  been  bought 
by  them.     The  name  was  changed  from  Commerce. 

170  Omund  Olson  was  converted  to  Quakerism  at  Salem,  Henry 
County.     As  early  as  1842   several  of  the  settlers  joined  with  him 
in  erecting  a  meeting  house  on  his  farm. 

171  The  question  has  been  investigated  somewhat  by  Mr.  B.  L. 
Wick.     See  Republikaneren,  February  9,  1900. 


FIRST  SETTLEMENT  IN  IOWA  197 

La  Salle  County,  Illinois,  in  Shelby  County,  Mis 
souri,  and  in  Lee  County,  Iowa.  Jacob  Slogvig 
went  to  California  about  1850;  there  he  became 
wealthy  and  died  in  1864.  Knud  Slogvig  moved  to 
Lee  County  early  in  the  fifties,  I  believe,  and  died 
there.  Hans  Barlien  died  in  the  Sugar  Creek  Set 
tlement  in  1842.  Mrs.  Thorstein  Eue  and  her  son, 
Thorstein,  lived  in  Sugar  Creek  till  1846,  when  they 
went  to  Wisconsin,  and  took  part  in  the  founding  of 
the  Blue  Mounds  Settlement  in  western  Dane  Coun 
ty.  Lars  Tallakson  settled  about  a  decade  later  in 
La  Salle  County,  Illinois,  where  he  lived  to  a  good 
old  age. 172  Jacob  Olson  Hetletvedt  (brother  of  the 
slooper,  Ole  0.  Hetletvedt)  continued  to  live  in  Lee 
County  till  his  death  in  August,  1857.  His  widow 
married  Sven  Kjylaa,  with  whom  she  then  moved  to 
the  Fox  Eiver  Settlement.  Per  Omundson  Gjilje 
was  one  of  the  last  to  leave  the  settlement;  in  1864 
he  removed  to  New  Sharon,  Mahaska  County,  Iowa, 
where  he  died  in  1895.  His  wife  (born  Karina  Bor- 
nevik,  from  Naerstrand,  Norway)  died  in  1902,  aged 
eighty- six. 


172  He  died  about  1900.  Among  those  who  moved  to  New 
Sharon  were  Sjur  Olson,  Nils  Nilson  and  Aad  Nilson  and  wife 
Kristina;  Martha  Erickson  was  until  recently,  at  least,  living  in 
Clark  County,  Missouri. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

The  Earliest  Norwegian  Settlers  at  Wiota,  La  Fay- 

ette  County,  and  Dodgeville,  Iowa  County, 

Wisconsin 

About  forty  miles  directly  west  of  Rock  Prairie 
lies  Wiota,  about  which  town  stretches  in  all  direc 
tions  a  Norwegian  settlement  of  considerable  size. 
It  is  separated  from  Luther  Valley  by  Green  Coun 
ty  and  lies  only  twenty-five  miles  distant,  north 
west,  from  the  old  settlement  of  Rock  Run,  in  Illi 
nois.  Here  extensive  lead  mines  were  being  oper 
ated  in  the  forties,  and  they  were  the  means  of 
drawing  to  that  locality  a  large  number  of  immi 
grants  of  different  nationalities,  many  of  whom,  to 
be  sure,  only  remained  there  temporarily,  going  else 
where  to  buy  a  home  as  soon  as  they  had  accumu 
lated  sufficient  funds.  The  mines  were  at  that  time 
called  "  Hamilton  Diggings. "  As  early  as  1840  we 
find  two  Norwegians  working  in  these  mines,  namely, 
the  brothers  Andreas  and  John  0.  Week,  both  from 
Eidfjord,  in  Hardanger.  The  Week  brothers  seem 
to  have  been  two  of  a  party  of  about  forty  from 
Hardanger,  who  emigrated  in  1839. 173  I  do  not 
believe,  however,  that  either  Andrew  or  John  Week 
entered  a  land  claim  in  the  vicinity,  and  they  re 
mained  there  only  a  few  years.  In  1844  John  Week 

173  They  came  in  the  same  ship  as  Knut  Eoe. 


EARLIEST  NORWEGIAN  SETTLERS          199 

moved  to  Dodgeville  in  Iowa  County,  where  he  es 
tablished  a  shoe  store  in  company  with  John  Lee, 
from  Nmnedal,  Norway.  Andrew  Week  went  to 
Marathon  County  some  years  later;  here  he  built  a 
saw  mill,  which,  however,  was  bought  out  by  his 
brother  John  in  1849,  when  Andrew  joined  the  Cal 
ifornia  gold-seekers. 

In  the  spring  of  1842  Lars  Davidson  Beque,  an 
immigrant  from  Voss  in  the  year  1839,  came  to 
Wiota.  We  have  already  met  him  as  a  purchaser  of 
land  in  Deerfield  Township,  in  Dane  County,  in  De 
cember,  1840.  Not  having  the  means  to  begin  the 
improvement  of  his  land,  he  says,  he  decided  to  go 
to  Hamilton  Diggings,  and  he  did  not  take  posses 
sion  of  his  land  until  the  summer  of  1842. 174  Eekve 
remained  at  the  Diggings  only  about  one  year.  In 
1841  the  first  permanent  settlers  arrived ;  these  were 
Per  Unde,  from  Vik  Parish,  Sogn,  Per  Davidson 
Skjerveim,  Sjur  Ulven,  and  Arne  Anderson  Vinje, 
from  Voss.  The  first  of  those  was,  it  seems,  the  ear 
liest  emigrant  from  Sogn  to  America.  He  was  a 
man  of  considerable  means,  but  a  copy  of  Rynning's 
Sandfaerdig  Beretning  om  Amerika  fell  into 
his  hands  and  he  decided  to  emigrate.  He 
remained  in  Chicago  the  first  year  and  a  half 
or  over.  Ulven  and  Skjerveim  had  come  from 
Norway  in  1840.  Arne  Vinje  (born  1820)  came 
to  Chicago  in  September,  1840,  after  having 
been  five  months  on  the  journey.  He  had  left 

174  He  did  not  actually  settle  there  permanently  before  1844. 


200  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Norway  April  sixteenth  with  his  wife, 17S  and 
a  party  of  twenty  other  persons  from  Voss.  The 
following  spring  Vinje  and  Skjerveim,  having  de 
cided  to  go  to  the  mines  in  Wisconsin,  secured  each 
their  yoke  of  oxen,  and  drove  overland,  arriving  at 
Wiota  on  the  seventh  of  July,  after  five  days  of  diffi 
cult  travel ;  Unde  and  Ulven  came  at  the  same  time. 
Unde  immediately  entered  a  claim  on  a  piece  of  land 
in  the  vicinity  and  built  a  house,  as  did  Skjerveim 
and  Vinje  a  short  time  after;  these  located,  how 
ever,  about  three  miles  farther  south. 

According  to  Arne  Vinje  the  following  twenty- 
one  persons  came  from  Voss  that  spring :  Torstein 
Saue,  his  wife  and  son  Gulleik,  Lars  Saue  and  wife, 
Klaus  Grimestad  and  wife,  Arne  Anderson  and  wife 
and  infant  son  Andrew,  Knudt  Hylle,  Ole  S.  Gilder- 
hus,  Knudt  Eokne,  Mads  Sonve,  Baar  Lawson  Boe 
(a  brother  of  Iver  Lawson),  Lars  Eothe,  Brynnel 
Eonve,  two  young  ladies  from  Saue,  one  from  Eonve 
and  one  from  Gilderhus.  In  discussing  the  voyage 
Vinje  says: 

The  bottom  of  the  ship  in  which  we  sailed  was  de 
clared  by  Capt.  Ankerson  to  be  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  old  and  when,  in  midocean,  we  encountered  a  se 
vere  storm,  the  timbers  sustaining  the  upper  berths  gave 
way,  precipitating  them  upon  the  lower  ones,  and  the 
screams  and  cries  of  the  frightened  passengers  added  to 
the  fury  of  the  storm,  almost  created  a  panic  on  board. 
As  for  myself,  I  seized  a  heavy  chest  which  I  intended 
throwing  overboard  to  use  as  a  support  in  the  water  in 

175  Her  maiden  name  was  Martha  Gulliksdatter  Kindem. 


EARLIEST  NORWEGIAN  SETTLERS          201 

case  the  ship  foundered.  Even  Hegg,  and  others  from 
"Ostlandet,"  who  came  from  Drammen  with  Capt.  An- 
kerson,  stopped  in  Milwaukee,  while  we  from  Voss  came 
on  to  Chicago,  where  my  wife  and  I  were  received  into 
the  home  of  Sjur  Ulven  and  family.  Mrs.  Ulven  being 
my  wife's  cousin. 

Knudt  Hylle  and  myself  began  our  first  work  in 
Chicago  upon  the  streets  of  the  (then)  westside.  My 
work  was  handling  a  heavy  plank  scraper,  drawn  by  a 
yoke  of  oxen  and  used  to  scrape  the  sod  from  the  sides 
of  the  road  into  the  center. 

At  this  time  occurred  the  election  of  General  Harri 
son  to  the  Presidency.  The  candidate  was  the  ''People's 
choice"  and  I,  from  my  bed,  saw  a  log  cabin,  such  as  he 
lived  in,  mounted  upon  wheels  and  drawn  through  the 
streets  to  show  that  he  was  chosen  from  the  common  peo 
ple.  That  was  effective  electioneering! 

In  the  spring  of  1841  Peder  Skjerveim,  who 
had  come  from  Norway  in  1837,  having  lived  in  Chi 
cago  in  the  interval,  drove  from  Chicago  up  to  Ham 
ilton  Diggings  to  explore  the  region.  Upon  his  re 
turn  he  reported  that  there  was  government  land  for 
sale  there,  and  Vinje  and  he  decided  to  move  thither. 
Peder  Iverson  Unde  and  family  and  Sjur  Ulven 
went  to  the  "  Diggings "  at  the  same  time.  Of  this 
Vinje  writes : 

We  left  Chicago  on  July  2nd  and  arrived  in  Wiota, 
or  Hamilton's  Diggings  as  it  was  then  called,  after  a  tire 
some  journey  of  five  days.  On  July  7th  we  passed  Elgin, 
Illinois,  in  a  grove  near  which  Independence  day  was 
being  celebrated,  on  July  4th,  but  there  was  then  no 
town,  only  a  few  scattered  houses.  We  progressed  with 


202  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

some  difficulty  as  our  wagon  broke  down  twice  during 
the  journey.  The  second  of  these  accidents  occurred  as 
we  were  nearing  Rockford  toward  evening,  when  the  axle 
gave  way;  but  Peder  Skjervheim,with  only  an  ax  and  an 
augur  went  into  the  woods  nearby,  and  from  a  conven 
ient  tree  cut  and  made  a  new  axle  that  night,  so  that  we 
proceeded  safely  on  our  way  the  next  morning. 

There  being  no  bridges,  we  forded  the  rivers  at 
Rockford  and  Freeport.  There  was  then  not  a  house 
where  the  thriving  city  of  Rockford  now  stands  and  only 
one  small  grocery  store  at  Freeport.  There  were,  at  that 
time,  no  Norwegians  in  or  around  Wiota,  and  the  nearest 
Norwegian  settlement  was  at  Rock  Run,  Illinois.  Peder 
Skjervheim  and  I,  each  bought  forty  acres  of  government 
land  in  the  Township  of  Wiota,  upon  which  we  each  built 
a  log  cabin  and  began  other  improvements.  Andres 
Braekke  also  bought  forty  acres  but  soon  sold  it  again. 

In  1842  there  came  to  our  neighborhood  three  young 
people  from  Voss;  David  Larson  Fenne  and  wife,  and  his 
brother,  Nils  Fenne.  In  1843  there  came  some  families 
from  Vik,  in  Sogn,  and  settled  near  by :  Ole  Iverson  Unde 
and  wife  Britha,  and  his  brother  Erik's  family.  Erik 
died  before  reaching  America,  but  his  wife  and  children 
settled  down  here.  Likewise,  Erik  Engebrit  Hove,  Ole 
Anderson  and  Sjur  Tallakson  Bruavold  came  at  the  same 
time. 

To  those  which  Mr.  Vinje  mentions  as  arriving 
in  1842  may  be  added  Isak  Johnson  from  Skien, 176 
and  Christian  Hendrickson  from  Lier,  Norway.  The 
latter  however  moved  to  Primrose  Township  in  Dane 
County  in  1846.  (See  below). 


176  I  am  fold  that  he  came  in  1841,  but  this  seems  to  be  a  mistake. 


EARLIEST  NORWEGIAN  SETTLERS          203 

Mathias  J.  Engebretsen  of  Gratiot,  Wisconsin, 
tells  me  that  Per  Fenne  and  wife  Martha  came  to 
Wiota  in  1842,  while  Nils  Sunve  and  wife  Maline,  and 
Ivar  Fenne  came  in  1843 ;  all  these  were  from  Voss. 
Helge  Meland  and  wife  from  Telemarken  came  in 
1843,  as  also  Tore  Thompson  from  Tindal  and  Ash 
ley  Gunderson  from  Numedal. 177  Those  mentioned 
by  Arne  Vinje  at  the  end  of  the  above  account,  Ole 
and  Sjur  Bruavolden,  did  not  settle  at  Wiota,  it 
seems,  before  1845,  and  Erik  E.  Hove  not  until  1847. 
These  had  located  first  at  Long  Prairie  in  Boone 
County,  Illinois,  as  had  also  Ingebrigt  Fuglegjardet, 
who  came  from  Vik,  Sogn,  in  1844.  Of  the  immigra 
tion  from  Land,  Norway,  to  Wiota,  which  began  with 
Syver  Johnson  (Smed  or  Smedhogen  in  1844),  I  shall 
speak  in  the  next  chapter.  The  growth  of  the  Jeffer 
son  Prairie  Settlement  will,  however,  claim  our  at 
tention  briefly  first. 


177  Reverend  J.  W.  C.  Dietrichson,  speaking  of  the  Wiota  Settle 
ment  in  1844  says,  that  there  had  been  organized  a  congregation  that 
year,  which  numbered  about  one  hundred  members,  of  whom  the  larg 
er  part'  were  from  Voss;  these,  he  says,  had  settled  there  for  the 
most  part  in  1843.  He  mentions  Per  Davidson  as  deacon  and  a 
leading  member  of  the  church,  and  Knud  Knudson  as  one  who  by 
great  energy  had  acquired  considerable  wealth. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

Growth  of  the  Jefferson  Prairie  Settlement  from 

1841  to  1845.     The  First  Norwegian  Land 

Owners  in  Rock  County. 

In  an  earlier  chapter  I  have  given  an  account  of 
the  coming  of  Norwegians  to  Jefferson  Prairie  in 
1838-39.  We  found  that  a  considerable  number  of 
persons  had  located  there  by  1840,  principally  immi 
grants  from  Numedal.  These  first  settlers  located 
in  the  southern  half  of  Clinton  Township,  but  others 
soon  came  who  settled  still  farther  south,  so  that  the 
settlement  soon  came  to  include  a  portion  of  the 
Township  of  Manchester  in  Boone  County,  Illinois. 
The  first  settlers  here  were  Tonnes  Tolleivson  (or 
Tollef son)  from  Jsederen,  and  Svend  Larson,  both  of 
whom  settled  in  Boone  County  in  1840 ;  Tollef  son  had 
come  to  America  in  the  fall  of  1839,  presumably 
spending  the  winter  of  1839-40  on  Jefferson  Prairie. 

The  settlement  thus  came  to  be  divided  into  a 
northern  and  a  southern  part,  the  immigrant  settlers 
in  the  two  representing  different  provinces  in  Nor 
way.  The  Numedalians  settled  as  we  have  seen, 
nearer  Clinton  and  in  general  in  the  northern  end  of 
Jefferson  Prairie ;  in  fact  they  occupied  most  of  the 
prairie  proper.  The  southern  portion,  the  timber 
land,  come  to  be  settled  principally  by  immigrants 
from  Voss.  Very  few  of  these  located  in  the  Town  of 


JEFFERSON  PRAIRIE  SETTLEMENT         205 

Clinton;  they  selected  homes  in  the  early  days,  for 
the  most  part,  just  where  their  descendants  now  live, 
on  the  south  side  of  the  state  line,  in  Illinois.  The 
whole  settlement  extends  from  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  south  of  Clinton  across  the  prairie  and  into  the 
timber  which  began  about  three  miles  south  of  Clin 
ton  and  extends  about  four  miles  down  into  Illinois. 

We  have  observed  above  that  Ole  Nattestad 's 
house  became  the  stopping  place  of  the  earliest  im 
migrants  to  Jefferson  Prairie.  In  a  similar  way 
D.  B.  Egery's  place, 178  located  four  miles  southwest 
of  the  Nattestad  cabin  on  the  trail  to  Beloit,  became 
the  headquarters  for  many  a  Norwegian  immigrant 
in  that  early  day.  Speaking  of  him,  H.  L.  Skavlem 
gives  testimony  to  his  kindness  and  the  readiness 
with  which  he  lent  a  helping  hand  to  the  incoming 
settlers  in  his  vicinity,  who  were  seeking  a  place  to 
establish  a  home  in  the  wilderness.  As  soon  as  the 
immigrants  arrived,  parties  of  two  or  three  would 
fill  their  knapsacks  (skraeppe)  with  provisions  and 
strike  out  in  various  directions  to  "spy  out  the 
land."179 

The  first  Norwegians  to  buy  land  on  Jefferson 
Prairie  were  Ansten  Nattestad  and  Thorstein  Nil- 
sen,  the  date  of  whose  purchase  is  December  25th, 
1839. 18°  On  January  25,  1840,  Anders  Jacobson's 

178  Situated  in  section  26  in  Turtle  Township. 

179H.  L.  Skavlem  in  Scandinavians  in  the  Early  Days  of  Eock 
County,  a  most  interesting  and  valuable  pamphlet,  though  very  brief. 

180  The  first  Norwegian  land  owner  in  the  county  was  however 
Gisle  Sebjornson  Halland  as  shown  by  H.  L.  Skavlem  'a  researches. 
The  date  of  Halland  'a  purchase  was  November  29th.' 


206  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

purchase  was  recorded,  and  further  in  the  same 
year  those  of  Erik  Gudbrandson  (May  16)  and 
Kittil  Newhouse  (Nyhus,  June  15).  The  first  three 
purchases  were  in  sections  32,  30  and  22,  respective 
ly,  while  those  of  Gudbrandson  and  Newhouse  were 
in  section  20,  all  in  Clinton  Township.  The  latter 
made  a  further  purchase  in  1842  in  the  same  sec 
tion,  as  did  also  Tosten  Olson.  Ole  Nattestad's 
purchase  was  recorded  on  November  25,  1842,  while 
in  September  of  that  year  Ole  Newhouse  (Nyhus) 
had  bought  three  forties  in  sections  15  and  22,  and 
Christoff er  Newhouse  one  in  section  30 ;  others  were 
now  rapidly  moving  in  and  becoming  owners  of  their 
choice  of  land  on  the  ' i  Prairie. ' '  Among  these  were 
Jas.  Hilbeitson,  Erik  Hilbeitson,  Tore  Helgeson, 
Erik  Gulbeitson,  Gulbrand  Gulbrandson,  and  Ole 
Pederson  Bogstrandeiet,  all  in  the  fall  of  1842. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  noted  that  Gulleik 
GravdaPs  purchase  of  land  in  the  Town  of  Newark 
(in  section  1)  was  recorded  December  12,  1839,  and 
he  made  additions  to  his  holdings  in  1842  in  sec 
tions  1  and  9.  Mrs.  Gunnild  Odegaarden  purchased 
land  in  1839  and  1840,  Lars  H.  Skavlem  in  June, 
1841,  and  Gudbrand  Olson  and  Mrs.  Gulleik 
Springen  in  October,  1841.  During  September  of 
the  latter  year  four  purchases  were  also  recorded 
in  Plymouth  Township,  namely  those  of  Paul  Hal- 
vorson  Skavlem,  Nils  Olson  Vegli  (Wagley)  and 
Gunnel  Holgerson,  while  in  May,  1840,  Gulleik  H. 


JEFFERSON  PRAIRIE  SETTLEMENT         207 

Blakestad  Skavlem  had  become  the  owner  of  forty 
acres  in  Beloit  Township. 181 

The  Jefferson  Prairie  Settlement  received  con 
siderable  accessions  during  the  next  four  years. 
Lena  Sondal  came  in  1841,  Haakon  Paulson  from 
Sigdal  and  his  wife  Inger  came  in  1842,  Ole  Severt- 
son  and  family  from  Numedal,  including  a  daugh 
ter,  Petra,  who  is  now  Mrs.  Henry  Jacobson  (Oppe- 
dal)  182  of  Clinton,  came  in  1843,  as  did  also  Brynild 
L.  Lie  and  wife  from  Voss,  Lars  0.  Lie  from  Hal- 
lingdal 183  and  Edwin  0.  Wilson  Naeshaug.  The  last 
of  these  settled  in  Boone  County,  Illinois,  where  he 
bought  land  in  1846,  but  removed  to  Filmore  County, 
Minnesota,  in  1854.  Gunder  Vedfald  and  family, 
including  the  sons,  Ole  and  Halvor,  from  Telemarken 
also  came  in  1843.  In  the  year  1844  there  was  a 
considerable  influx  of  settlers  from  Voss ;  184  among 
them  were :  Sjur  K.  Kvarma  wife  and  four  children 
from  Voss,  Brynild  Dugstad, 185  wife  and  five  child 
ren,  Erik  K.  Dugstad,  wife  and  child,  Lewis 
Severts,  Ole  Shipley  and  wife  Guri,  Lars  Grane, 

181  In  December,  1842,  Mrs.  Gisle  Halland  bought  forty  acres  in 
Beloit  Township.     Her  name  appears  as  Margarett  Nutes    (Margrit 
Knutsdatter). 

182  Henry   Jacobson   is   a   son   of   Jacob   J.   Oppedal,   who   came 
from  Hardanger  in  1850. 

183  Frederik   Frederikson  '&  wife,  who   was   Martha  Larson,   also 
came  in  1843.     Frederikson  came  some  years  later. 

184  We  have  seen  that  Clas  Isakson  had  immigrated  from  Voss 
in  1840.     He  was  the  first  Vossing  to  settle  on  Jefferson  Prairie. 

185  Brynild  Dugstad  located  in  the  northern  part  of  the  settle 
ment.     A   son,   Knut   B.   Dugstad,   died   at   Clinton,   Wis.,   in   April, 
1905,  age  80. 


208  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Sjur  Grane,  Elling  Ellingson  and  wife  Magela, 
Ole  Skutle, 186  Peder  Bere  and  wife  Britha.  Al 
so  the  following  came  about  the  same  time  (1844  or 
the  following  year) :  Lars  Baarson  and  wife  Gudve, 
Guru  Isakson,  Sjur  A.  Gronlien,  wife  and  two  chil 
dren,  and  Erik  E.  Slseen.  Nearly  all  those  here 
enumerated  followed  the  lead  of  Clas  Isakson  and 
settled  near  or  south  of  the  state  line.  From  Vik, 
Sogn,  Norway,  there  was  a  single  settler,  namely, 
Ole  0.  Train.  From  Hardanger  also  there  was,  it 
seems,  only  one  immigrant  among  those  who  came 
during  this  earliest  period,  Anna  Tollefson,  wife  of 
Tonnes  Tollefson,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  came  to 
America  in  1839.  From  Telemarken  there  were 
about  twelve  persons,  among  them  Steinar  E.  Had- 
land,  wife  and  son,  Guldmond;  Gunder  0.  Vedfald, 
wife  and  daughter ;  Even  Haatvedt  and  Ole  A.  Haa- 
tvedt  and  wife,  besides  the  Vedfald  family  spoken  of 
above.  From  Nses  in  Hallingdal  we  find  Knud  E. 
Vaeterud,  a  widower,  and  his  two  daughters,  Inge- 
borg  and  Eonnau,  besides  Lars  0.  Lie,  and  from 
Modum,  Thov  Modum  and  wife  Karen;  finally 
Krodsherred  is  represented  by  Even  Fingerson  Fos- 
lien. 

Among  the  earliest  purchasers  of  land  (1842) 
I  have  mentioned  Ole  C.  Newhouse.  He  was  a 
brother  of  Kristoffer  and  Kittil  Newhouse  who  had 
come  in  1839.  The  original  name,  Nyhus,  was  in 
the  early  days  changed  to  Newhouse,  which  is  a 

186  Ole  Skutle  later  married  Lena  Sondal,  who  had  come  in  1841 ; 
see  above. 


JEFFERSON  PRAIRIE  SETTLEMENT         209 

translation  of  the  Norwegian.  Ole  Newhouse  mar 
ried  Helen  Stabaek,  daughter  of  Klemet  Stabaek,  who 
has  been  spoken  of  as  the  founder  of  the  Bock  Kun 
Settlement  in  Stephenson  County,  Illinois,  in  1839. 

Sjur  Kvarme's  children  included  a  son,  Kolbein 
(born  1831) ;  he  lived  on  Jefferson  Prairie  from  1844- 
1854,  in  which  latter  year  he  joined  the  gold-seekers 
in  California.  With  the*  proceeds  of  three  years' 
work  in  the  gold  mines  he  came  east  again  in  1857 
and  bought  a  farm  near  St.  Ansgar,  Iowa,  where  he 
lived  till  his  death  in  October,  1906.  Olav  Vedfald, 
son  of  Gunder  Vedfald,  remained  with  his  parents 
on  Jefferson  Prairie  till  1850,  when  he  purchased 
land  and  settled  on  Bonnet  Prairie  in  Columbia 
County,  Wisconsin. 187 

Among  the  pioneers  of  Jefferson  Prairie  are 
also  particularly  to  be  named  Reverend  0.  Andrew- 
son  and  wife,  Ragnild  Paulson,  both  of  whom  came 
to  America  in  1841,  but  did  not  settle  in  Clinton 
Township  before  1855 ;  in  that  year  Rev.  Andrewson 
accepted  a  call  as  pastor  of  the  congregation  which 
he  had  organized  there  in  1850.  Mrs.  Andrewson, 
who  is  now  eighty-five  years  old,  is  still  living  there. 

In  the  above  survey  of  the  growth  of  the  Jeffer 
son  Prairie  Settlement  during  these  years  many 
names  have  been  omitted  because  of  the  uncertainty 
among  my  informants  as  to  the  year  of  their  arrival. 

187  Of  those  who  come  in  1844  from  Numedal  were  Gulleik  Svens- 
rud  and  family,  who  however  removed  to  Blue  Mounds,  Dane  County, 
in  1847.  In  1860  he  married  Ingeborg  Lohn  who  died  in  1903 ;  there 
are  five  living  children. 


210  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

In  a  subsequent  chapter  I  shall  also  outline  the  sub 
sequent  growth  of  the  settlement.  I  shall  here  mere 
ly  note  the  fact  that  Eeverend  J.  W.  C.  Dietrichson 
speaks  of  the  congregation  in  1844  as  numbering  150 
members. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

Immigration  to  Rock  Prairie  from  Numedal  and 
Land  in  1842  and  Subsequent  Years. 

In  Chapter  XI  above  we  have  given  an  account 
of  the  beginnings  of  the  Rock  Prairie  Settlement  and 
traced  its  growth  down  to  1842.  We  shall  here  brief 
ly  discuss  the  development  of  this  settlement  during 
the  next  eight  years.  Already  in  the  summer  of 
1842  a  considerable  number  of  immigrants  came, 
most  of  them  locating  there  permanently.  I  shall 
mention  first  Halvor  N.  Aaen  and  wife,  Guri 
(Frogne),  both  from  Nore  in  Numedal,  who  settled 
in  Newark. 188  Halvor  Stordok  and  Ole  Stordok, 
brothers  of  Gunnul  Stordok  mentioned  before,  both 
came  in  1842.  Halvor  bought  land  near  Sugar 
River  Bottom;  he  married  Ingeborg  Paulson,  and 
the  couple  lived  on  the  homestead  till  their  death. 
Their  children,  Knud,  Halvor,  Inge  and  Ingeborg, 
all  unmarried,  are  still  living  there.  They  are  all 
over  fifty  years  of  age  now.  Ole  Stordok,  who  mar 
ried  Anne  Sand  from  Rollaug,  located  at  Sand 
Prairie,  five  miles  south  of  Broadhead.  In  the  same 
year  came  also  Gullik  0.  Mygstue,  with  wife  Joran 

188  Aaen  is  said  to  have  been  something  of  an  inventor.  He 
made  two  clocks,  one  of  which  was  bought  by  Mr.  Chrispinson;  the 
other  was  bought  by  Simon  Strand,  and  is  now  probably  in  the  pos 
session  of  Stone  or  Gunild  Strand  says  a  writer  in  Amerika  for  March 
15th,  1907.  Aaen  died  about  1886. 


212  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

and  five  children,  from  Vaegli,  Nmnedal.  Gullik  died 
in  1852,  but  the  widow  lived  till  1887.  Their  oldest 
son,  Ole  (born  in  1825),  had  learned  the  trade  of  a 
shoemaker  and  conducted  a  shoemaker's  shop  on  his 
farm  long  after  he  had  begun  farming. 189  In  1848 
he  married  Sive  Espeset  from  Hallingdal,  Norway; 
they  had  no  children.  19° 

Among  those  who  came  from  Numedal  to  Amer 
ica  in  1842  was  also  Herbrand  H.  Berge  (born  in 
Eollaug  in  1821.  He  remained  for  a  year  and  a 
half  on  Jefferson  Prairie,  however,  so  that  he  did 
not  locate  on  Eock  Prairie  until  early  in  1844.  Anna 
Torbjornsdatter,  who  later  became  his  wife  (1847) 
also  immigrated  in  1842.  They  removed  to  Jackson 
County,  Minnesota,  in  1876 ;  he  died  there  in  Decem 
ber,  1903,  and  she  in  February,  1904,  191  at  the  age 
of  seventy-seven.  In  1843  Hellik  Olson  Holtan  with 
family  from  Flesberg  in  Numedal  emigrated  and 
settled  on  Eock  Prairie.  Holtan  was  a  man  of  much 
intelligence  and  strength  of  character,  who  soon  came 
to  hold  a  leading  place  among  the  pioneers  in  the 
community. 

189  The  location  of  his  farm  is  half  a  mile  from  Orf ordville. 

190  Mrs.  Mygstue  died  in  1892.     Ole  Mygstue  then  sold  his  farm 
and  moved  to  his  sister,  Mrs.  Engen,  in  Primrose,  Dane  County.     An 
obituary  notice  of  Ole  Mygstue  (who  died  in  1902)  speaks  very  highly 
of  him  as  a  member  of  the  church  and  a  citizen.     He  was  a  man  of 
kindly  nature  and  helpful  spirit  in  whom  all  reposed  implicit  confi 
dence. 

191  Their  children  are:     Paul  Berge,  Herbrand  Berge  and  Mrs. 
Henry  Anderson,  all  living  in  Jackson,  Minnesota. 


IMMIGRATION  TO  KOCK  PRAIRIE  213 

So  far  we  have  spoken  only  of  immigrants  from 
Numedal.  In  the  year  1842  the  first  family  from 
Land,  Norway,  came  to  Eock  Prairie,  namely  Hans 
Smedsmd  and  wife.  We  have  seen  that  the  first 
immigrant  from  Land,  Lars  Eoste,  who  came  in  1839, 
located  at  Eock  Eun.  It  was  the  year  1843  which 
inaugurated  the  tide  of  emigration  to  America  from 
Land  and  nearly  all  the  earliest  arrivals  located  on 
Eock  Prairie.  Thus  in  that  year  came  Harald  Om- 
melstad  and  family,  five  in  all,  Anders  Lundsaeter  and 
family,  in  all  five,  Peder  H.  Gaarder  with  family 
(six),  Soren  Sorum,  and  Anne  Marie  Nilsdatter,  in 
all  eighteen  persons.  These  were  followed  the  next 
year  by  fifteen  persons,  namely :  Lars  Nord-Fossum 
and  family  (five),  Hans  Christofferson  Tollef snide 
and  wife,  Anders  Midboen  with  wife  and  one  child, 
Anders  Engen,  Gudbrand  Gaarder,  Helene  Gaarder, 
Inger  Gaarder,  and  Helene  Klevmoen.  Anders  Er- 
stad  and  wife,  and  Syver  Smed,  who  came  at  the 
same  time,  did  not  locate  on  Eock  Prairie ;  the  former 
went  to  Eock  Eun  while  Smed  located  at  Wiota,  be 
ing  the  first  native  of  Land  to  settle  in  La  Fayette 
County. 

I  shall  also  add  here  the  names  of  those  who 
came  from  Land  in  the  following  years.  In  1845  came 
two  families,  namely  Askild  Ullensager,  wife  and 
four  children,  and  Tarald  Jorandlien,  wife  and  four 
children.  Jorandlien  or  Jorlien,  as  the  name  is  usu 
ally  rendered,  located  in  Newark.  In  1846  Marie 
Engen  and  her  son,  Hans  (born  1823)  and  daughter, 
came,  as  did  also  Erik  Nederhaugen.  The  year  1847 


214  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

brought  Ole  Norstelien,  Christine  Norstelien  and 
Hans  Svemn,  wife  and  five  children. 192  The  year 
1848  with  its  extensive  immigration  also  brought  an 
increased  contingent  from  Land.  The  following 
settled  on  Eock  Prairie ;  Ole  Gaarder  and  wife,  An 
dreas  Sorum,  Ingebrigt  Fossum  and  family  (six), 
Halvor  Euud  and  family  (seven),  Johans  Neder- 
haugen  193  and  family  (four),  Johan  Frankrige  and 
family  (five)  and  Hovel  Jensvold, 194  Hovel  Smeby 
and  Bertha  Lybaek. 19S  In  all  there  were  fifty-four 
who  came  from  Land  in  1848 ;  of  these,  twenty-eight 
settled  on  Eock  Prairie,  twenty-five  at  Wiota  and  one 
at  Eock  Eun.  The  roster  of  immigrants  from  Land 
in  1849  includes  forty-eight  persons,  of  whom  sixteen 
located  on  Eock  Prairie ;  they  were :  Johannes  Om- 
melstadsasteren,  Ingeborg  Ommelstadsaeteren,  Mar- 
thea  Brendingen,  Johans  Lybaek,  Bertha  Froslie, 
Marit  Froslie,  Hans  Engen  (Froslieit)  and  family 
(five)  and  Jonas  Gjerdet  and  family  (five).  Syver 
Gaarder  and  family,  thirteen  in  all,  who  located  far 
ther  west  at  Albany,  Green  County,  came  directly 
from  Land,  but  they  were  natives  of  Valders.  He 
had  moved  from  Valders  to  Torpen  in  Land  and 
bought  there  the  Gaarder  farm  when  the  Gaarder 
family  emigrated  in  1843,  remaining  there,  however, 

!92Svend  Norstelien  and  family  (seven)  and  Kari  Lillebask  and 
six  children  from  Land,  who  also  came  that  year,  settled  in  Wiota. 

193  Martin  Johnson  of  Orf  ordville,  Rock  County,  is  his  son. 

194  Christian  Lunde,  who  also  came  from  Land  in  1848,  located 
at  Bock  Eun.     Several  families  went  to  Wiota;  see  above,  Chapter 
XXII. 

195  Who  later  married  Syver  Midboen. 


IMMIGRATION  TO  ROCK  PRAIRIE  215 

as  we  have  seen,  only  six  years. 196  The  accessions 
for  1850  were:  Ole  Smeby  and  family  (five),  Osten 
Lundsaeteren  and  family  (five),  Sjugal  Frankrige 
and  family  (six),  Helene  Froslie,  Bertha  Sorum, 
Hovel  Fossum,  Ole  Hovdelien  and  Hans  Vserhaug, 
in  all  twenty- one. 

The  account  of  immigration  from  Land  which  it 
has  been  possible  to  give  so  fully  here  is  based  on 
the  private  records  of  Hans  C.  Tollefsrude,  as  pub 
lished  in  part  in  Amerika  for  March  8th,  1907.  Hans 
Tollef snide's  name  occupies  a  foremost  place  in  the 
early  history  of  the  Rock  Prairie  Settlement.  In  the 
seventies  he  again  became  a  pioneer,  locating  now  in 
Pocahontas  County,  Iowa. 197 


196  Of    the   remaining   twenty-three    of   this   year's   immigration 
from  Land  eleven  went  to  Wiota,  seven  to  Rock  Run,  and  five  scat 
tered  elsewhere. 

197  The  limitations  of  space  forbid  a  sketch  of  Mr.  Tollefsrude 
in  our  survey  of  Rock  Prairie. 


CHAPTEE  XXV 

Immigration   from   Hallingdal,   Norway,    to    Rock 
Prairie  from  1843  to  1848.     Continued  Im 
migration  from  Numedal.    Other 
Early  Accessions. 

We  will  now  turn  to  another  contingent  in  the 
early  immigration  to  Eock  Prairie,  -  that  from  the 
dialect  district  of  Hallingdal.  The  emigration  from 
this  region  began  in  1842  with  the  departure  of  the 
brothers  Knud  and  John  Ellingson  Solem,  who  came 
direct  to  Eock  Prairie.  In  1843  Kleofas  Halvorson 
Hansemoen  immigrated  with  wife  Kari  (Onsgaard) 
and  child  Halvor,  locating  on  section  twelve  in  New 
ark  Township,  Eock  County.198  Kleofas's  father's 
name  was  Halvor  Kleofasen  Hansemoen;  he  did  not 
emigrate.  There  were  two  other  brothers,  Erik  and 
Hans,  of  whom  the  former  did  not  come  to  this  coun 
try.  Hans  Hansemoen  had  in  Norway  bought  an 
estate  called  Husemoen,  not  intending  to  emigrate. 
But  when  his  brother  sent  favorable  reports  back 
from  America,  he  sold  out  and  came  to  this  country 
in  the  fall  of  1845.  He  bought  land  in  sections 
eleven  and  twelve  in  Newark  Township,  near  his 
brother.  The  above  is  narrated  in  part  to  show  how 

198  They  had  five  children  in  this  country:  Knud,  Kleofas, 
Eyvind,  Eirik  and  Caroline,  all  now  married  and  with  families.  The 
sons  adopted  Cleofas  as  the  family  name.  The  daughter  was  married 
to  Kittil  Haugen,  now  living  in  Pelican  Eapids,  Minn. 


IMMIGRATION  TO  ROCK  PRAIRIE  217 

his  name  happens  to  appear  as  Hans  Husemoen, 
while  the  brother  is  Kleofas  Hansemoen  and  the 
brother's  children  are  Halvor  Kleofas,  Knud  Kleo 
fas,  etc.  (see  note  198).  Hans  Husemoen 's  wife's 
maiden  name  was  Bergit  Halvorsdatter  Tveto ;  she 
was  from  Aal  Parish  in  Hallingdal. 

In  1845  the  settlement  received  other  accessions 
from  Hallingdal.  The  list  includes :  Ola  Brunsvold, 
Halvor  Hesgard,  Kristen  Grimsgaard,  Ole  Skaalen, 
Nils  Roe,  Ola  Sando,  Mikkel  Bust,  Svend  Hesla, 
Gjermund  Mjehtum,  Aslak  Rustad  and  Aslak  Ulsak. 

In  1846  about  three  hundred  persons  emigrated 
from  Hallingdal.  How  many  of  these  came  to  Rock 
County  I  am  not  able  to  say ;  among  them  were,  how 
ever,  Erik  Kolsrud  and  family,  Ole  Hei  and  family, 
Nils  Haugen,  wife  and  six  children,  Knud  Trostem, 
Henrik  Henriksen  Trostem,  Halvor  Ness,  Hans  En- 
gen,  Kari  Husemoen,  Guttorm  Roen  and  son,  Ole, 
Tollef  Tollefsrud-Ballandby  and  sons  Nils,  Ola  and 
Amund,  Henrik  Rime,  brother  of  Tollef,  A.  T.  Beigo, 
Timan  Burtness  and  his  brother  John,  Aadne  Engen, 
Kristen  Megaarden,  Lars  Grimsgaard,  wife  and 
family,  Ingeborg  Olsdatter  Trostem,  Asle  Hesla, 
and  Asle  Brunsvold.  Many  of  the  above  had 
families.  The  leaders  of  this  party  were  the 
three  first  named  and  Tollef  Tollefsrude.  They 
were  the  owners  of  large  estates  in  Norway 
which  they  sold  when  they  left  for  America. 
They  paid  the  passage  for  many  who  came  from 
Hallingdal  that  summer,  but  I  cannot  give  the 
names  of  these.  The  party  of  emigrants  left  Dram- 


218  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

men  in  April  by  the  ship  Newmann,  which  took  them 
to  Havre,  France.  Here  they  remained  one  month, 
before  the  ship  on  which  they  were  to  sail  was  gotten 
ready.  They  did  not  arrive  to  Bock  Prairie  until 
October,  having  been  six  months  en  route. 

In  1847  very  few  came  from  Hallingdal,  among 
them  are  mentioned  Ole  Onsgaard,  Nils  O.  Wikko, 199 
and  Osten  Burtness.  In  the  following  year,  how 
ever,  there  was  a  considerable  immigration.  Erik 
K.  Berg  and  his  brother  Truls  Berg,  Ole  Trulson  Ve 
and  Ole  Gulsen  (Trostem)  with  wife  and  son  Gul 
and  daughter  Guri,  Erik  Ovestrud,  Tideman 
Kvarve,  Guttorm  Megaarden,  a  Mr.  Sagdalen  and 
wife,  Kari,  20°  Levor  Kvarve  and  family  of  twelve, 
and  Knut  Guttormsen  Tyrebakken. 201  There  came 
others  from  Hallingdal  also  in  the  years  following. 
I  may  mention  here  Ole  J.  Bakke  and  wife  and  Her- 
brand  K.  Finseth  (born  in  Hemsedal  in  July,  1830), 
who  emigrated  in  1852  and  lived  three  years  on  Eock 
Prairie.  They  moved  to  Goodhue  County,  Minne 
sota,  in  1855,  as  did  also  Knut  K.  Finseth  and  A.  K. 
Finseth,  brothers  of  Herbrand;  these  together  with 
Halvor  Hesgard,  Aadne  Engen  and  Christen  Even- 
son,  who  removed  to  Minnesota  at  the  same  time, 


199  Nils  O.  Wikko  was  from  Gol,  Hallingdal.     He  married  Beret 
Halvorson  in  1854,  and  removed  soon  after  to  Worth  County,  Iowa. 
He  died  in  1904,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three,  survived  by  widow  and 
six  daughters. 

200  They   moved   to    Houston    County,    Minnesota,    in    1853.     He 
died  in  1894  and  she  in  1904,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four. 

201  Tyrebakken  moved  to  Black  Hammer,  Minnesota,  in  1854,  when 
he  married  Mari  Haugejordet.     He  was  born  in  1823,  in  1905. 


IMMIGRATION  TO  ROCK  PRAIRIE  219 

were  the  first  white  settlers  in  the  Town  of  Holden, 
Goodhue  County. 202  I  may  also  mention  Kittel  0. 
Ruud,  born  1823  of  parents  Erik  Sanderson  and  Mar- 
git  Ruud,  and  who  came  to  Eock  County  in  1850.  A 
few  years  later  he  moved  to  Northwestern  Iowa  and 
in  1855  became  a  pioneer  settler  in  Holdon,  Goodhue 
County,  Minnesota,  where  he  married  Margrethe  An- 
dersdatter  Flom  in  1856.  She  was  born  in  Aurland, 
Sogn,  1824.  She  died  in  March  and  he  in  April, 
1903. 203 

The  immigrants  from  Hallingdal  settled  chiefly 
in  Spring  Valley,  and  Plymouth ;  Beloit  and  Newark 
townships  were  settled  for  the  most  part  before  the 
Hallingdal  immigrants  began  to  come  in  larger  num 
bers,  yet  some  are  located  in  Beloit  Township.  New 
ark  is  occupied  largely  by  immigrants  from  Numedal, 
as  is  also  Beloit.  While  Rock  Prairie  was  taken 
possession  of  chiefly  by  pioneers  from  Numedal, 
Land,  and  Hallingdal,  there  were  also  a  few  from 
Telemarken,  Sigdal  and  Ringerike,  and  one  from 
Valders  among  the  pioneers  of  the  forties.  Of  those 
who  came  from  Telemarken  I  shall  mention  Knut 
Simon  (born  1819),  who  located  near  Janesville  in 
1843.  He  removed  to  Rice  County,  Minnesota,  in 
1854,  and  thence  to  Pope  County  in  1865;  died  in 
1905. 

The  single  immigrant  from  Valders  to  locate  on 

202  Knut  Finseth  died  in  1869.     Herbrand  Finseth  married  Guri 
Ouri  in  1867;  he  died  in  January,  1901,  leaving  wife  and  six  children. 

203  I  gather  these  facts  from  an  obituary  notice,  which  speaks  at 
length  in  eloquent  terras  of  the  noble  lives  of  this  couple. 


220  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Eock  Prairie  was  Guul  Guttormson.  He  came  in 
1843  and  is  the  first  known  American  immigrant 
from  that  district.  He  was  born  at  Ildjernstadhaug 
in  Hedalen  in  1816.  About  1840  he  had  removed  to 
Modum;  here  a  copy  of  Nattestad's  journal  fell  into 
his  hands  and  he  and  Hans  Uhlen  and  Anders 
Aamodt 204  decided  to  emigrate.  These  three  came 
on  the  same  ship  that  brought  Kleofas  Halvorson 
and  Peder  Gaarder.  Guttormson  bought  land  half 
way  between  Orfordville  and  Broadhead.  He  was 
always  called  "Guul  Valdris"  for  he  was  and  re 
mained  the  only  "Valdris"205  there,  for  while  he 
wrote  home  urging  his  friends  in  Valders  to  come  to 
America,  the  immigration  from  Valders  did  not  set 
in  before  1847-48  and  by  that  time  Eock  Prairie  had 
been,  as  we  have  seen,  taken  up  largely  by  immi 
grants  from  Hallingdal  and  Land.  Guul  Guttorm- 
son's  oldest  son,  Guttorm  Guul  (Broadhead,  Wis 
consin),  born  August,  1848,  was  probably  the  first 
child  born  of  Valdris  parentage  in  America.  I  have 
already  spoken  of  the  emigration  of  Syver  Gaard 
er, 206  a  "Valdris"  who  came  with  the  party  from 
Land  in  1849.  They  located  at  Albany  in  Green 
County.  These  I  believe  were  the  only  settlers  from 
Valders  in  this  locality. 

204  These  two  were  the  first  to  emigrate  to  America  from  Modum. 

205  Valdris  is  the  Norwegian  appellation  of  a  native  of  Valders. 

206  Syver  Gaarder 's  daughter,  Barbro,  married  Martin  Johnson 
(Nederhaugen)  in  1855.     Dr.  J.  S.  Johnson,  of  Minneapolis,  is  their 
oldest  son;  other  children  are:     Ben  Johnson,  Orfordville,  Wisconsin; 
Mrs.  Eev.  Langseth,  Glendorado,  Minn.;  Mrs.  Eev.  L.  Njus,  Mclntosh, 
Minn.;   Mrs.  Stromaeth,  living  on  the  homestead;   Mandy  Johnson. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

Economic  Conditions  of  Immigrants.     Cost  of  Pass 
age.     Course  of  the  Journey.    Dura 
tion  of  the  Journey. 

In  discussing  the  causes  of  emigration,  we  have 
found  that  economic  factors  entered  extensively  into 
operation.  It  was  the  desire  for  material  better 
ment  that  prompted  a  very  large  proportion  of  Nor 
wegian  emigrants  to  leave  the  land  of  their  fathers. 
The  first  five  decades  of  Norwegian  emigration  was 
a  period  in  which  the  battle  for  existence  among  the 
Norwegian  peasant  and  the  common  man  was  none 
too  easy.  Unfavorable  economic  conditions,  the  op 
pressive  methods  of  the  larger  land  owners,  frequent 
crop  failure,  often  reduced  the  lesser  farmers  into 
a  condition  of  impoverishment.  Even  wealthy  fam 
ilies  found  themselves  burdened  by  debts  from  which 
the  future  seemed  to  offer  little  hope  of  relief.  By 
the  law  of  primogeniture  the  oldest  son  inherited  the 
estate.  The  sons  of  men  of  means,  therefore,  were 
financially  often  no  better  situated  than  the  cotter's 
son,  and  were  often  forced  to  seek  their  fortune  be 
yond  the  native  village  or  district.  These  consid 
erations  will  make  clear  first  that  the  great  majority 
of  Norwegian  emigrants  to  the  United  States  were 
at  the  time  of  emigration  of  small  means ;  they  were 
often  very  poor  indeed.  Their  wealth  lay  in 


222  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

the  ability  and  the  will  to  carve  their  way  in  a  land 
of  greater  promise.     Their  wealth  lay  also  in  their 
thrift,  in  their  ideals,  and  the  moral  fiber  of  their 
race.     Many  of  those  who  have  succeeded  best  in 
their  adopted  country  came  here  well-nigh  penniless. 
To  them  poverty  was  no  longer  a  curse  when  the 
path  of  opportunity  lay  before  them.    But  the  above 
considerations  will  also  have  indicated  that  Norwe 
gian  immigrants  of  that  early  period  were  not  al 
ways  of  the  poor  classes  even  though  they  came  here 
with  little  or  nothing.    Later  Norwegian  immigra 
tion  has,  it  is  true,  generally  been  from  among  the 
impecunious.    But  in  that  early  period,  especially 
1835  to  1865,  a  very  large  number  of  the  immigrants 
came  from  families  which  general  or  special  condi 
tions  had  suddenly  so  reduced  to  conditions  which 
became  to  them  intolerable.    And  it  was  the  hope 
which  America  held  out  which  inspired  them  with  the 
will  to  seek  there  the  independence  now  no  longer 
theirs.    We  have  already  met  with  the  evidence  of 
this  in  such  families  as  Hovland  (1835),  Nattestad 
(1837),  Aadland  (1837),  Aasland  (1838),  Gravdal 
(1839),    Stabaek    (1839),    Gitle    Danielson    (1839), 
Luraas  (1839),  Unde  (1839),  Heg  (1840),  Gaarder 
(1843-49),  Nils  Haugen   (1846),  and  many  others. 
We  shall  in  the  following  pages  meet  with  families 
of  considerable  means  from  Numedal,  Telemarken, 
Voss,  Ringsaker  and  elsewhere,  of  whom  the  same 
is  true ;  and  among  the  pioneers  who  came  from  Sogn 
in  1844,  1845,  and  later  there  were  many  old  fam 
ilies  of  property  and  prominence  in  their  native 


ECONOMIC  CONDITIONS  223 

community.  I  stress  this  fact  because  some  who 
have  formerly  written  about  Norwegian  settlements 
in  this  country  have  never  yet  fully  recognized  the 
full  significance  of  this ;  but  I  speak  of  it  here  espec 
ially  because  I  have  myself  also  failed  to  fully  ap 
preciate  this  fact  when  last  I  wrote  upon  the  subject. 
What  has  been  said  here  applies  to  the  founders  of 
the  settlements  of  Northern  Illinois,  of  Racine,  Rock, 
Dane  and  other  counties  in  Southern  Wisconsin,  and 
many  of  those  who  some  years  later  established  the 
settlements  in  Northern  Iowa  and  Southern  Min 
nesota.  On  the  other  hand  also  some  of  those  who 
later  became  most  substantial  members  of  these  set 
tlements  were  men  whose  transportation  to  America 
was  paid  for  by  others  that  they  might  come  and 
get  a  start  in  life.  These  men  emigrated  prompted 
by  the  desire  of  material  betterment  and  in  that  aim 
they  have  succeeded,  and  they  have  succeeded  hon 
estly,  often  accumulating  great  wealth. 207 

The  second  topic  in  the  title  of  this  chapter  is 
the  cost  of  passage.  I  shall  discuss  this  item  briefly, 
using  concrete  illustrations  from  our  sources.  In 
that  early  period  the  voyage  was  made  by  sail-ships. 
These  continued  to  be  used  for  a  long  time  after 
steam  had  come  into  use,  clear  down  into  the  seven 
ties.  The  ticket  was  then  generally  somewhat 
cheaper  by  sailing  vessels  than  by  steamship. 
Passengers  furnished  their  own  board  and  bed- 
ing,  and  they  were  required  to  bring  a  supply 

207  It  is  only  "financial  prosperity"  which  we  are  here  speaking 
of,  of  course.     The  question  of  "success"  is  entirely  a  different  one. 


224  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

sufficient  for  ten  to  twelve  weeks. 208  The  price 
of  passage  ranged  between  33  and  50  speeiedaler, 
that  is  between  $25.00  and  $38.00.  Children  un 
der  fourteen  travelled  for  half  price;  those  under 
one  went  free.  The  Luraas  party  (page  158  above) 
paid  forty-two  speciedaler  from  Gothenburg  to  Bos 
ton,  while  the  Nattestad  party  paid  fifty  dollars  from 
Gothenburg  to  New  York  in  1837.  In  1839  the  party 
that  came  with  Ansten  Nattestad  secured  passage 
for  thirty- three  dollars  per  person.  This  may  be 
regarded  as  normal;  it  was  the  price  paid,  e.  g.,  by 
Anders  Tommerstigen  and  family  from  Christiania 
via  Havre,  France,  to  New  York  in  1846.  Those  who 
came  in  June  from  Sogn  in  1844  paid  twenty-five  dol 
lars  a  person  from  Bergen  to  New  York.  The  ex 
tremes  are  illustrated  by  two  groups  for  the  year 
1839  and  1845 :  The  little  group  of  immigrants  who 
came  from  Stavanger  via  Gothenburg  to  Boston  with 
Gitle  Danielson  in  1839  paid,  it  seems,  sixty  dollars 
apiece, 209  while  Peder  Aasmundson  Tanger  and 
others,  ninety  in  all,  who  came  in  1845  from  Kragero, 
paid  only  eighteen  dollars  apiece  to  New  York. 

The  inland  journey,  generally  in  the  early  days 
made  by  canal  boat,  varied  greatly  in  cost,  often 
amounting  to  as  much  as  fourteen  dollars  to  Mil 
waukee  or  Chicago.  But  the  additional  toll  inland 

208  The  regulations  varying  with  different  ships,  Juno,  which 
brought  the  first  party  from  Inner  Sogn  in  1844,  did  not  accept  any 
passenger  who  had  not  provided  himself  with  food  supply  for  twelve 
weeks. 

209 i.  e.  $47.     E.  B.  Anderson's  First  Chapter,  page  313. 


ECONOMIC  CONDITIONS  225 

frequently  made  the  inland  journey  much  more  ex 
pensive  than  was  the  ocean  voyage.  One  pioneer, 
writing  of  this  later,  says  that  his  whole  journey 
cost  him  ninety  dollars.  21°  In  the  fifties  the  inland 
journey  was  made  by  railroad;  the  railroad  ticket 
from  Quebec  to  Chicago  or  Milwaukee  was  eight  dol 
lars. 

The  course  of  the  journey  has  been  incidentally 
indicated  above.  During  the  first  years  it  was  usual 
ly  by  way  of  Gothenburg,  sometimes  via  Hamburg, 
not  infrequently  by  way  of  Havre.  The  starting 
point  was  Stavanger,  Bergen,  Skien,  Drammen, 
Porsgrund  and  Christiania,  later  other  ports.  New 
York  was  most  often  the  place  of  landing,  but  not 
infrequently  Boston,  in  isolated  instances,  Fall 
River,  Philadelphia  and  New  Orleans.  After  1850 
sail-ships  plied  extensively  between  Scandinavian 
ports  and  Quebec. 211  The  inland  journey  from  New 
York  went  by  steamboat  to  Albany,  thence  by  canal 
boat  to  Buffalo,  a  distance  of  three  hundred  and 
fifty  miles,  which  usually  took  twelve  days  but  often 
over  two  weeks. 212  From  Buffalo  the  journey  went 
by  steamboat  over  the  Great  Lakes  to  Milwaukee  and 

210  In  American  money,  of  which  less  than  half  for  the  ocean 
voyage. 

211  Of  the  trials  and  the  hardships  of  the  ocean  voyage  in  the 
thirties,   forties  and  fifties,   we  can   to-day  have  no   conception.     It 
would,  however,  fall  outside  the  scope  of  this  work  to  discuss  that 
here.    I  may  refer  the  reader  to  a  well-written  article  by  H.  Cock  Jen 
sen  in  Nordmandsforlundet,  December,  1907,  pages  53-66.     See  also 
Holand's  article,  pages  56-60. 

212  A  good  account  of  the  character  of  this  journey  is  given  by 
Holand,  pages  65-74. 


226  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Chicago,  after  1842  usually  to  Milwaukee.  Those 
who  took  the  Quebec  route  after  1850  were  then 
brought  to  St.  Levi  by  the  railroad  company's  steam 
boats,  whence  they  went  by  rail  to  Chicago  or  Mil 
waukee,  213  a  journey  which  generally  took  four  or 
five  days,214  over  a  distance  of  1020  miles.  Milwau 
kee-bound  passengers  were  often  shipped  from  Port 
Huron  by  way  of  Lakes  Huron  and  Michigan  or  were 
taken  by  rail  from  Detroit  across  Michigan  to  Grand 
Haven,  thence  by  steamboat  across  Lake  Michigan 
to  Milwaukee. 21S  The  latter  was  of  course  the  short 
er  and  the  favored  route  for  immigrants  whose  des 
tination  was  Wisconsin,  Northern  Iowa,  or  Minne 
sota.  Immigrants  who  landed  in  Boston  usually 
went  by  steamboat  thence  to  New  York  and  from  the 
regular  inland  route  as  given  above. 

The  duration  of  the  journey  was  always  a  mat 
ter  of  great  uncertainty.  Intending  emigrants  who 
came  from  the  interior  of  Norway  often  had  to  wait 
as  long  as  two  weeks  at  Bergen  or  Skien,  as  the 
case  might  be,  before  the  ships  on  which  they  were 
to  go  sailed.  The  overhauling  and  putting  in  repair 
of  the  storm-battered  ships  often  took  weeks. 216 
The  duration  of  the  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  de 
pended  of  course  largely  upon  the  state  of  the 

213  Via  Montreal,  Toronto,  Port  Huron  and  Detroit. 

214  Billed-Magazin  I,   123-124,  article  "Om  Udvandringen, "  by 
J.  A.  Johnson  Skipsnes. 

215  To  Port  Huron  189  miles,  thence  to  Milwaukee  85  miles. 

216  The  author's  grandfather,  Ole  Torjussen  Flom,  and  party  of 
about  fifty-three,  from  Inner  Sogn,  were  obliged  to  wait  in  Bergen 
nearly  three  weeks  before  sailing. 


ECONOMIC  CONDITIONS  227 

weather.  With  this  favorable  a  sail-boat  would 
usually  cross  the  ocean  in  six  or  seven  weeks, 217  but 
in  a  voyage  of  such  a  distance  it  was  practically  cer 
tain  that  there  would  be  stormy  weather  sometime 
before  the  other  side  was  reached.  In  his  answer 
to  this  question  in  Billed-Magazin  I,  page  123,  John 
A.  Johnson  wrote  that  the  average  length  was  seven 
weeks,  but  he  adds  that  those  who  crossed  in  that 
time  had  no  reason  to  complain.  And  he  speaks  of 
the  fact  that  emigrant  ships  have  in  rare  cases  taken 
twelve  to  thirteen  weeks. 

The  Nattestad  party  made,  in  1837,  an  especially 
short  voyage  of  thirty-two  days  from  Gothenburg  to 
Fall  River.  I  have  no  record  of  any  other  ship  in 
those  early  years  which  sailed  so  well  as  did  Enig- 
heden.  Juno,  the  most  rapid  sailer  on  the  Atlantic 
in  the  forties,  crossed  in  five  weeks  and  three  days 
in  May-June,  1844,  which  Kristi  Melaas  of  Stough- 
ton,  Wisconsin,  who  was  a  passenger,  says  broke  the 
record  for  speed  at  that  time.  Ansten  Nattestad  and 
party  took  nine  weeks  in  1839  with  the  ship  Emelia 
from  Drammen.  Nine  weeks  is  the  number  which 
many  report  as  the  duration  of  the  voyage  in  the 
forties.  The  party  that  came  with  the  Luraas 
brothers  from  Tin  and  Gitle  Danielson  from  Sta- 
vanger  also  in  1839  took  nine  weeks  and  three  days 
from  Gothenburg  to  Boston.  And  Aegir  took  nine 
weeks  on  its  journey  from  Bergen  to  New  York  in 
1837.  The  sloop  Restaurationen  we  recall  crossed 

217  There  was  of  course  great  difference  in  the  speed  of  the  boats. 


228  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

in  ten  weeks.  The  so-called  Brook-ship  Albion 
usually  required  from  eight  to  nine  weeks  for  the 
voyage. 

In  stormy  weather  the  voyage  sometimes  lasted 
as  much  as  fourteen  weeks.  The  sail-ship  Tricolor 
took  that  long  in  April-July,  1845,  the  route  being 
from  Porsgrund  to  New  York.  Ingebrigt  Johnson 
Helle,  from  Kragero,  who  was  a  passenger,  writes 
of  the  terrors  of  this  journey  (see  appendix  2).  On 
a  voyage  made  in  1848  Tricolor  took  fourteen  weeks 
and  four  days,  according  to  interview  with  Kari 
Gulliksdatter  Mogen  (from  Flesberg,  Numedal),  who 
was  a  passenger  on  the  ship  (see  Billed-Magazin  I, 
page  388).  The  little  sail-ship  in  which  Nils  Hansen 
Fjeld  and  family  came  in  1847  took  fourteen  weeks 
from  Christiania  to  New  York. 218 

In  this  connection  I  shall  cite  from  an  article 
by  Dr.  K.  M.  Teigen  of  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  en 
titled  "Pionerliv"  (Pioneer  Life).219  He  says: 

In  the  days  of  the  sail-ship  a  voyage  across  the  At 
lantic  Ocean  was  more  of  an  undertaking  than  a  journey 
around  the  world  now.  Most  of  the  summer  might  be 
required  for  it  if  the  weather  was  unfavorable.  My 
mother's  party  from  Plesberg  and  Lyngdal  parishes  in 
Numedal,  took  seven  weeks  and  four  days  in  1843  with 
the  brig  Hercules,  Captain  Overvind,  between  Drammen 


218  For  account  of  the  voyage  see  Appendix  2. 

219  The  article  forms  one  in  a  series  of  most  interesting  articles 
bearing  the  general  title  ' '  Blandt  Vestens  Vikinger ' '   ( 'Mongst  the 
Vikings  of  the  West)    printed  in  America  in   1901   and   1902.     Dr. 
Teigen,  son  of  O.  C.  Teigen,  Koshkonong  Pioneer  of  1846,  is  a  poet 
and  story  writer  of  the  first  rank  among  Norwegians  in  America. 


ECONOMIC  CONDITIONS  229 

and  New  York;  my  father's  company  from  Sogndal  in 
Inner  Sogn,  three  years  later,  lay  for  fourteen  weeks  heav 
ing  and  lunging  in  contrary  winds  between  Bergen  and 
the  promised  land.  And  then  came  the  journey  by  steam 
er  up  the  Hudson  to  Troy,  thence  through  the  tl canal' ' 
and  the  sluices  at  Oswego  by  canal  boats,  which  were 
drawn  with  a  snail's  pace  by  horses,  lazily  moving  along 
the  banks;  then  by  way  of  the  lakes  by  steamer  again 
westward  to  Milwaukee.  For  this  journey  of  about  a 
thousand  miles  another  month  went  by,  without  counting 
the  walk  from  Milwaukee  to  Koshkonong,  lying  seventy 
miles  distant  in  the  wilderness,  whither  so  many  of  the 
earliest  Norwegian  immigrants  wrere  destined. 

At  the  place  of  landing  the  immigrants  were  fre 
quently  obliged  to  wait  for  several  days  before  the 
westward  journey  was  begun.  To  Kock  Prairie, 
Koshkonong  or  Norway  Grove,  as  the  case  might  be, 
required  another  week,  and  correspondingly  more  for 
those  bound  for  more  westerly  settlements.  In  all 
the  duration  of  the  journey  from  Norway  to  the 
settlement  which  was  the  immigrant's  ultimate  des 
tination  was  rarely  made  in  less  than  nine  weeks ; 
often  it  consumed  as  much  as  five  months. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

Norwegians  in  Chicago,  1840-1845.    A  Vossing  Col 
ony.    Some  Early  Settlers  in  Chicago 
from  Hardanger. 

On  page  94  above  I  have  spoken  briefly  of  the 
first  Norwegian  settlers  in  Chicago  in  the  years 
1836-1839.  On  page  150  mention  was  made  of  the 
increase  of  the  Chicago  colony  by  the  arrival  of  a 
number  of  immigrants  from  Voss,  Norway,  in  1839- 
41.  As  there  indicated,  however,  many  of  those  who 
came  during  these  years  lived  there  only  temporar 
ily  ;  we  find  them  later  as  pioneers  elsewhere,  espec 
ially  in  Dane  and  La  Fayette  Counties,  Wisconsin.  22° 
The  same  applies  also  to  several  of  those  who  came 
from  Voss,  Sogn,  and  Telemarken,  to  Chicago  in 
1843-1844 ; 221  these  went  mostly  to  Koshkonong, 
Wiota  or  Long  Prairie,  others  to  the  various  parts 
of  the  Fox  River  settlement. 

In  chapter  XXI  above  I  have  further  related 
some  incidents  from  the  life  of  some  early  Norwe 
gian  settlers  in  Chicago.  In  the  following  pages  I 
shall  merely  try  to  give  a  brief  account  of  new  ac 
cessions  to  the  Chicago  colony  between  the  years 
1842  and  1850.  It  is  estimated  that  there  were  in 

220  I  instance  the  families  of  Th.  Saue  and  Kvelve  who  went  to 
Koshkonong,  and  Unde,  Ulven,  Skjerveim  and  Vinje  who  went  to 
Wiota. 

221  For  instance  the  Kaasa  family  went  to  Long  Prairie  in  1845. 


NORWEGIANS  IN  CHICAGO  231 

Chicago  in  1850  3,000  persons  of  Norwegian  birth; 
relatively  the  number  was  therefore  considerable  in 
that  year.  Yet  I  shall  probably  be  right  if  I  say  that 
the  actual  number  of  Norwegians  in  the  city  in  the 
year  1842  was  very  small,  not  more  than  in  some 
of  the  smallest  rural  settlements  already  established. 
I  assume  that  as  the  early  Norwegian  immigrants 
came  here  with  the  intention  of  settling  on  a  farm, 
comparatively  very  few  were  induced  to  remain  per 
manently  in  Chicago.  Chicago  and  vicinity  was  not 
particularly  inviting  at  the  time;  the  swamps  and 
marshes  soon  drove  the  incoming  immigrants  to  the 
more  inviting  and  the  far  more  fertile  inland  coun 
ties. 

As  residents  of  Chicago  before  1839,  we  have 
found  Halstein  Torison,  Johan  Larson,  Nils  Kothe 
and  wife  Torbjor,  Svein  Knutson  Lothe  and  wife 
and  two  children,  Baard  Johnson,  wife  and  five  child 
ren,  Andrew  Nil  son  Brrckke  and  Anders  Larsen 
Flage,  both  with  families ;  these  were  all  from  Voss 
except  Johan  Larsen,  a  sailor  who  was  from  Kop- 
ervik,  a  little  couth  of  Haugesund,  and  Torison, 
who  was  from  Fjeldberg  in  Sondhordland. 222  Among 
Baard  Johnson's  sons  were  Anfin,  John  and  Andrew; 
the  first  of  these  was  a  tailor  in  the  employ  of  Simon 
Doyle  on  Kinzie  Street. 223  The  first  directory  of 
Chicago,  published  in  1839,  gives  a  few  more  names 

222  The  Newberry,  whom  Torrison  worked  for  as  a  gardener  was 
the  founder  of  well-known  Newberry  Library. 

223  For  this  and  many  other  facts  in  this  chapter  I  am  indebted 
to  Strand's  History,  pages  182-186. 


232  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

of  Norwegians. 224  We  know  that  Lars  Davidson 
Beque  lived  there  then;  he  seems  to  have  lived  in 
the  Cass  Street  Dutch  settlement.  His  occupation 
was  that  of  a  fireman  on  the  steamboat  George  W. 
Dole.  There  were  two  other  Davidsons,  Sivert225 
and  Peter ;  in  the  latter  we  recognize  our  Per  David 
son  Skjerveim  (see  above  p.  199).  Other  names  in 
the  same  directory  are:  Asle  Anderson,  musician; 
Endre  Anderson,  laborer ;  Eric  Anderson,  pressman ; 
all  three  of  whom  lived  at  the  same  house  on  North 
State  Street,  and  were  probably  brothers;  Canute 
Lawson  (Larson),  city  street  carpenter  and  Iver 
Lawson,  who  lived  at  240  Superior  Street. 

But  the  directory  does  not  give  the  name  of 
another  Norwegian  who,  if  the  year  of  his  arrival 
is  correctly  recorded,  must  have  been  the  first  Scan 
dinavian  resident  of  Chicago,  namely  David  John 
son,  who  came  in  1834.  He  was  a  pressman  in  the 
employ  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  the  publisher  of  The  Chica 
go  Democrat.  David  Johnson  was  a  sailor,  who 
came  from  Norway  to  New  York  as  a  boy,  locating 
in  New  York  in  1832,  securing  work  as  a  press- 
feeder.  About  this  time  Mr.  Calhoun  was  planning 
to  install  a  cylinder  press  in  place  of  the  old  hand 
press  at  his  printing  establishment  in  Chicago.  The 
cylinder  press  was  ordered  from  New  York,  Mr. 
Johnson  having  accepted  Calhoun 's  offer  as  press- 

224  A.   E.   Strand  published   some   facts  from   this  directory   on 
pages  183-184  of  his  work. 

225  He  was  a  carpenter.     Mr.  Strand  thinks  the  three  were  broth 
ers.     This  is  a  mistake  of  course. 


NORWEGIANS  IN  CHICAGO  233 

man  for  him,  he  went  to  Chicago  at  the  same  time, 
where  he  put  up  and  operated  the  new  press.  The 
Chicago  Historical  Society  has  among  its  documents 
Mr.  Calhoun's  account-book  for  1834,  which  gives 
Mr.  Johnson 's  name.226 

But  there  were  other  Norwegians  in  Chicago  in 
1839  who  do  not  seem  to  have  been  found  by  the 
census  taker.  Thus  Steffen  K.  Gilderhus  came  there 
from  Voss  in  1838  and  his  brother  Ole  K.  Gilderhus 
came  in  1839.  They  lived  in  Chicago  until  1844, 
when  they  settled  on  Koshkonong  Prairie,  Dane 
County,  Wisconsin.  Further  Per  Unde,  Sjur  Ulven 
and  Arne  Vinje  who  came  there  in  1839 ;  these  three 
settled  at  Wiota,  Wisconsin,  in  1841.  Of  this  re 
moval  I  have  given  a  full  account  above  chapter. 
Probably  the  earliest  subsequent  arrival  from  Voss 
were  Torstein  Saue,  wife  and  son  Gulleik,  who  came 
in  the  summer  of  1840.  They  lived  in  Chicago  until 
1843,  when  they  also  went  to  Koshkonong.  At 
about  the  same  time  of  the  year  came  also  Baard 
Nyre,  Mads  Sanve,  Ole  Gilbertson,  Brynjulf  Eonve, 
Klaus  Grimestad  and  wife  and  Lars  T.  Bothe  and 
Anna  Bakketun,  all  from  Voss,  and  all  of  whom 
were  for  some  time  residents  of  Chicago.  Anna 
Bakketun  married  a  Mr.  Nicholson  (Nikolausen), 
who  died  from  cholera  in  1849.  From  this  marriage 
there  were  two  sons,  Henry  Nicholson,  who  served 
throughout  the  war,  and  John  G.  Nicholson,  who  is 
still  living  (Orchard  Street).  Torstein  Michael- 

226  Strand's  History,  p.  187. 


234  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

son,  who  succeeded  Halstein  Torison  in  the  employ 
of  Newberry,  also  came  in  1840  or  1841.  Michael- 
son  was  from  Voss  where  he  was  born  in  1808;  he 
remained  Newberry  7s  gardener  for  about  thirty-five 
years. 

We  have  above  seen  that  some  of  the  early  im 
migrants  to  Illinois  were  from  Hardanger,  Norway, 
but  the  number  was  not  large.  We  shall  speak  of 
this  immigration  more  in  detail  in  connection  with 
the  settlement  of  Lee  County,  Illinois.  Here  it  will 
be  in  order  now  to  note  briefly  Hardanger 's  contri 
bution  to  the  Norwegian  colony  in  Chicago  in  the 
period  under  discussion. 

In  1839  twenty-two  persons  emigrated  from  Ul- 
vik  Parish,  Hardanger,  and  all  of  these  came  to 
Chicago.  They  were:  Gunnar  Tveito,  wife  and 
child ;  Anders  Vik,  Johan  Vik,  Brynjulf  Lekve,  Lars 
Torblaa,  wife  and  two  children,  Nils  Vambheim  and 
wife,  Olav  L.  Mo,  wife  and  two  daughters  and  Lars 
Spilde,  wife  and  four  children. 227  This  party  having 
started  out  from  Bergen  left  Gothenburg  May  27, 
landed  at  Fall  Eiver,  Massachusetts,  August  2,  took 
boat  to  New  York,  thence  via  Buffalo  to  Chicago, 
where  they  arrived  August  25. 228  In  Chicago  they 
suffered  much  hardship,  many  were  taken  sick  and 
died,  among  the  latter  Tveito 's  and  Vambheim 's 


227  Facts  gathered  from  Normandsforbundet  II,  where  Rev.   O. 
Olofson  of  Ullensvang,  Hardanger,   discusses  most  interestingly  the 
early  emigration  from  Hardanger  to  America  (pp.  169-180). 

228  The  Chicago  census  for  1839  does  not  include  the  names  of 
any  of  this  party. 


NORWEGIANS  IN  CHICAGO  235 

wives.  The  men  secured  work,  some  on  the  canal, 
some  on  a  schooner  on  the  river,  others  as  wood 
cutters  in  the  forests  about  Chicago.  Lekve  and  the 
two  Vik  brothers  wrote  an  account  of  their  trials 
which  was  published  in  Bergens  Stiftstidende  for 
June  11, 1841,  in  which  they  advised  against  emigrat 
ing  to  America,  and  as  a  result  there  was  no  immi 
gration  to  this  country  from  Hardanger  again  be 
fore  1846-1847.  Very  few  of  the  later  immigrants 
from  Hardanger  located  in  Chicago. 

Other  arrivals  during  subsequent  years  were: 
1841,  Peter  Nelson  and  Knut  Larson  Bo;  1842,  J. 
C.  Anderson,  and  in  1843,  Ole  Kaasa  and  family,  G. 
A.  Wigeland,  Nils  Bakketun  and  Eandver  Lydvo 
(b.  1813).  Ole  Kaasa  moved  from  Chicago 
to  Boone  County,  in  1845,  but  one  of  his  sons, 
Jens,  became  a  permanent  resident  of  Chicago  and  a 
leading  member  of  the  Norwegian  colony  of  Chicago 
during  his  life.  Jens  Olson,  as  he  was  known,  was 
born  in  1824  in  Siljord,  Upper  Telemarken.  Tn  the 
early  part  of  1840  the  family  moved  to  B  amble  Par 
ish  in  Lower  Telemarken,  whence  they  emigrated  in 
1843.  They  arrived  in  Chicago  October  20  of  that 
year.  The  brother,  Thore  Olson,  went  out  to 
Boone  County ;  Jens  settled  permanently  in  Chicago, 
where  he  lived  till  his  death  in  1907.  In  1853  he 
married  Martha  Anderson 229  at  Capron,  Illinois.  23° 

Jens  Olson  was  a  master  mason  and  brick-layer, 


229  She  was  born  in  1827  at  Stokebo  in  Levanger  Parish,  Diocese 
of  Bergen. 

230  Mrs.  Jens  Olson  died  in  1895. 


236  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

and  he  built  Vor  Frelsers  Kirke  231  at  the  corner  of 
Erie  and  May  Streets.  Later  he  became  a  contractor 
on  a  larger  scale  and  erected  a  large  number  of 
school  houses  in  Chicago.  He  was  an  ardent  sup 
porter  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  gave  freely  to  its 
cause. 

Eandver  Lydvo  232  came  to  Chicago  in  October, 
1843.  In  June,  1844,  she  was  married  to  Lars  Knut- 
son  Dykesten;  the  ceremony  took  place  in  Nils 
Eothe's  house  and  the  ceremony  was  performed  by 
Eev.  Flavel  Bascum  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
church.  Lars  Knutson  died  in  the  cholera  epidemic 
in  1849.  Mrs.  Knutson  who  is  still  living 233  is  one 
of  the  oldest  Norwegian  residents  of  Chicago. 

In  1844  Bryngel  Henderson  and  wife  Martha 
came  to  Chicago  and  became  permanent  residents 
of  the  city,  as  did  also  Knut  Iverson  Glimme,  Mrs. 
Julia  Nelson,  Ellef  G.  Severtson234  and  John  A. 
Hefte.  These  were  all  from  Voss;  Severtson  was 
from  Vossevangen.  Ole  Bakketun  and  family  and 
Sjur  M.  Saere,  also  with  family,  both  from  Voss,  came 
to  Chicago  in  1844,  but  lived  there  only  one  year, 
when  they  went  to  Koshkonong. 

The  year  1844  also  brought  Chicago  another 
permanent  resident  from  Voss,  who  later  became 
prominently  associated  with  the  commercial  and  poli- 

231  Our  Savior's  Church. 

232  She  was  the  daughter  of  Anders  Knutson  Lydvo  and  wife, 
Martha  (Kothe).     Anders  Lydvo  died  in  1860  and  Martha  in  1875. 

233  She  resides  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Louis  H.  Johnson,  at  235 
Watt  Avenue,  Chicago. 

234Ellev  G.  Seavert. 


NORWEGIANS  IN  CHICAGO  237 

tical  life  of  the  city.  This  was  Tver  Larson  Bo,  born 
1821,  in  Voss,  Norway,  who  came  to  Chicago  that 
year  and  not  as  generally  found  stated  in  or  about 
1840, 235  locating  on  the  north  side.  Iver  dropped 
the  surname  Bo,  and  changed  Larson  to  Lawson,  so 
that  his  name  became  Iver  Lawson.  He  was  one  of 
the  organizers  of  the  First  Lutheran  church  in  1848, 
located  at  that  time  on  Superior  Street  between 
Wells  Street  and  La  Salle  Avenue. 236  Lawson  took 
a  prominent  part  in  the  political  life  of  early  Chi 
cago,  e.  g.,  as  member  of  the  city  council,  and  other 
wise.  In  1869  he  was  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  the  State  Legislature.  As  legis 
lator  his  name  is  most  closely  associated  with  the 
establishment  of  Chicago 's  excellent  system  of  parks ; 
the  creation  of  Lincoln  Park  in  particular  was  due 
in  great  measure  to  Lawson 's  efforts. 237  Iver  Law- 
son's  name  is  also  associated  with  that  of  John  An 
derson  in  the  founding  of  Skandinaven,  now  the 
largest  and  most  widely  circulated  Norwegian  news 
paper  in  this  country. 238 

The  year  1845  brought  a  number  of  accessions 
to  the  Norwegian  colony  of  Chicago.  Among  them 
Kittil  Nirison,  from  Bo  Parish  in  Telemarken,  one 
of  the  few  from  Telemarken  who  settled  in  Chicago 
in  the  early  days,  Knud  K.  Harrisville  and  wife  Ma- 

235  So  Strand,  and  after  him  Holand,  p.  101. 

236  Strand,  page  217. 

237  Brought  out  by  Strand's  investigation. 

238  V.  F.  Lawson  was  also  the  owner  of  The  Chicago  Record  be 
fore  the  Record  and  the  Herald  were  combined  about  year  1898. 


238  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

ren  Karine  (nee  Larson),  Christian  Lee,  from  Gaus- 
dal,  and  Andrew  Anderson,  wife,  Laura,  and  family 
from  Voss.  This  family  included  a  son  John,  born 
March,  1836,  who  is  the  well  known  founder  and 
owner  of  Skandinaven  and  president  of  the  John  A. 
Anderson  Publishing  Company. 239 

Andrew  Anderson  died  of  the  cholera  in  1849, 
and  to  the  son  John,  then  thirteen  years  old,  fell 
the  task  of  supporting  his  mother  and  baby  sister, 
which  he  did  at  first  by  peddling  apples  and  carry 
ing  newspapers.  Then  he  became  "printer's  devil" 
and  soon  learned  the  art  of  distributing  and  setting 
type.  24°  In  the  following  years  he  was  successively 
connected  with  The  Argus,  The  Democratic  Press 
and  The  Press-Tribune.  In  1866  he  launched  a  paper 
of  his  own,  Skandinaven,  which  at  first  a  small  sheet 
issued  weekly  has  grown  until,  through  its  daily, 
semi-weekly  and  weekly  issue,  it  is  now  the  largest 
and  politically  the  most  influential  of  Norwegian 
newspapers  in  the  country.  Mr.  Anderson  has  en 
gaged  extensively  in  the  publishing  of  books,  issuing 
a  far  larger  number  of  books  a  year  than  any  other 
Norwegian- American  publisher.  In  this  connection 
it  is  to  be  especially  mentioned  that  he  has  also  in 
recent  years  done  excellent  pioneer  work  in  the  pub 
lishing  of  certain  educational  works,  as  school  and 
college  texts  of  Norwegian  literature,  thereby  facil- 

239  There  were  three  sons,  but  one  died  at  sea,  and  another  died 
on  the  journey  from  Albany  to  Buffalo. 
240 Strand's  History,  page  266. 


NORWEGIANS  IN  CHICAGO  239 

itating  materially  instruction  in  this  field  in  our  col 
leges  and  universities. 

In  succeeding  years  the  Norwegian  colony  in 
Chicago  grew  rapidly.  Already  in  1850  it  was  con 
siderable;  to-day  there  are  more  Norwegians  in 
Chicago  than  any  other  city  in  the  country  (see  also 
footnote  443).  They  resided  in  the  early  days  for 
the  most  part  on  the  north  side,  south  of  Chicago 
Avenue,  between  the  lake  and  the  present  Orleans 
Street.  Later  the  region  of  Wicker  Park  became  a 
Norwegian  center.  To-day  they  are  found  very  ex 
tensively  in  the  vicinity  of  Humboldt  Park  and  Lo 
gan  Square,  the  business  center  is  along  West  North 
Avenue. 241 

Among  the  earliest  Norwegian  settlers  of  Chi 
cago  now  living  is  to  be  mentioned  finally  Mrs. 
Martha  Erickson  who  come  to  this  country  in  1841. 
She  is  the  daughter  of  Bjorn  Bjornson,  who  accom 
panied  Kleng  Peerson  to  America  in  1825.  For  ac 
count  of  this  see  above  page  50.  The  other  twin, 
there  referred  to  came  to  America  in  1866 ;  her  name 
is  Mrs.  Bertha  Fuglestad.  They  are  both  living  in 
Chicago  enjoying  excellent  health  at  the  age  of 
eighty-eight.  Bjorn  Bjornson  settled  in  Kochester, 
New  York,  where  he  died  in  1854. 242  On  their 


241  Strand,  p.   180.     See  also  above  page  50. 

242  For  above  facts   I   am   indebted  to  Mrs.   Eric  Boss  of   217 
Mozart  Street,  Chicago,  a  daughter  of  Mrs.  Faglestad.     Mrs.  Erick 
son  's  children:     Mrs.   Robert  S.   Carroll,   Otto  G.   Erickson,   Samuel 
Erickson  and  Alex  Erickson.     Mrs.  Fuglestad 'a  children  are:     Mrs. 
Anna  Eoss,  Thomas  B.   Fuglestad  in  Chicago,  Peter   A.   Fuglestad, 
Forest  City,  Iowa,  and  Mrs.  Mary  Jacobson  in  Beltram,  Minnesota. 


240  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

eighty-fifth  birthday  in  1906,  the  twin  sisters  held  a 
family  festival  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Eric  Boss  at 
which  four  children  and  one  grandchild  of  Mrs. 
Erickson  were  present  and  Mrs.  Fuglestad's  four 
children,  eighteen  grandchildren  and  fifteen  great 
grandchildren. 


CHAPTEK  XXVIII 

The  Earliest  Norwegian  Settlers  in  the  Township  of 
Pleasant  Spring,  Dane  County,  Wisconsin 

I  have  above  spoken  of  the  fact  that  Knut  H. 
Roe  was  one  of  the  party  that  emigrated  with  John 
Luraas  from  Tin,  Telemarken,  in  1839.  These  two 
men  became  the  first  Norwegians  to  settle  in  the 
townships  of  Pleasant  Spring  and  Dunkirk  respect 
ively  in  1843.  Roe  had  lived  for  a  time  in  La  Salle 
County,  Ilinois,  going  to  Racine  County,  Wisconsin, 
in  1842,  as  we  have  seen  above.  In  the  fall  of  1841 
a  few  of  the  settlers  in  Racine  County  had  travelled 
west  as  far  as  Koshkonong  Prairie,  for  the  purpose 
of  inspecting  the  uninhabited  country  there,  of  which 
they  seem  already  to  have  heard  from  friends.  In 
the  townships  of  Albion  and  Christiana,  these  met 
and  spoke  with  those  who  had  come  there  from  Jef 
ferson  Prairie  in  1840. 

The  favorable  report  of  these  explorers  relative 
to  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  the  general  character 
of  the  country  on  Koshkonong  created  considerable 
restlessness  among  the  pioneers  at  Wind  Lake,  in 
Racine  County,  and  many  decided  to  remove  to  Dane 
County.  Among  these  were  Knut  Roe  and  John 
Luraas.  We  shall  first  follow  the  fortunes  of  the 
former.  As  soon  as  the  snow  was  gone  with  the  end 
of  the  winter  of  1842-43,  Roe  walked  on  foot  to  Kosh- 


242  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

konong,  where  he  visited  the  different  parts  of  the 
prairie,  and  selected  a  spot  on  which  to  settle.  Then 
he  walked  back  to  Eacine  County.  John  Luraas  and 
family  also  having  decided  to  remove  to  Dane 
County,  the  two  families  secured  a  team  for  the 
overland  journey;  they  reached  their  destination  on 
one  of  the  last  days  in  May.  "Two  weeks  before 
St.  John's  eve,"  writes  Roe,  "my  first  home,  a  hut 
of  brushwood  and  leaves,  supported  at  the  four  cor 
ners  by  an  oak,  was  ready  sufficiently  so  that  my 
wife  and  child  and  myself  could  find  protection 
therein  against  rain  and  wind. ' '  This  he  built  in  the 
southeast  corner  of  section  twenty-two  in  the  Town 
of  Pleasant  Spring,  at  a  point  about  two  miles  and 
a  half  west  of  Utica.  Knut  Roe,  his  wife,  Anne,  and 
family  were  the  first  white  settlers  in  the  township. 
An  interview  with  Roe  which  the  editor  of  Billed- 
Magazin  prints  will  therefore  be  of  interest.  He 
says:  "I  often  received  visits  by  the  Indians,  and 
the  many  deep  paths  in  the  ground  showed  that  the 
son  of  the  wilderness  often  held  forth  in  the  region 
about  me.  In  their  marches  between  the  Lake  Kosh- 
konong  and  the  four  lakes  which  have  made  Madison 
famed  far  and  wide  for  its  beauty,  the  Redskins 
often  pitched  camp  close  to  my  brushwood  hut. 
Sometimes  I  accompanied  them  on  their  hunts,  They 
never  caused  me  any  trouble,  but  on  the  contrary 
were  always  ready  to  be  helpful.  There  was  game 
in  plenty.  Almost  daily  I  saw  herds  of  deer,  flocks 


EARLIEST  NORWEGIAN  SETTLERS          243 

of  prairie  chickens,  and  I  was  often  awakened  at 
night  by  the  howling  of  the  wolf." 

In  the  autumn  Roe  built  a  log  cabin;  in  this 
cabin  he  and  family  continued  to  live  till  1870.  Dur 
ing  the  earliest  years,  he  writes,  he  was  obliged  to 
drive  as  far  as  Whitewater,  thirty  miles  east,  or 
Madison,  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles,  for  flour.  At 
Lake  Mills,  twenty-two  miles,  there  was  a  saw-mill. 
After  a  time  the  settlers  began  to  sell  some  wheat ; 
this  had  to  be  hauled  to  Milwaukee,  seventy-five 
miles  away.  Their  only  means  of  transportation  at 
that  time  was  the  Kubberulle,  or  block- wheeled  wag 
on,  drawn  by  oxen,  much  of  the  way  through  forest, 
where  a  way  had  to  be  cut  by  the  axe.  Two  weeks 
after  Roe's  settling,  Ole  K.  Trovatten  came  from 
Muskego  and  located  on  the  farm  later  owned  by 
Gunder  J.  Felland.  Trovatten,  who  had  been  a 
school  teacher  in  Norway,  had  emigrated  from  Laur- 
dal,  Telemarken,  to  Muskego  in  1840.  He  was,  there 
fore,  the  second  Norwegian  to  locate  in  Pleasant 
Spring.  He,  however,  left  for  Cottage  Grove  that 
same  fall.  See  below,  page  252. 

The  next  arrivals  were  Osmund  Lunde  and  his 
brother-in-law,  Aslak  Kostvedt,  both  from  Vinje  in 
Telemarken.  The  latter  bought  land  three  miles 
southeast  of  West  Koshkonong  Church,  near  Trovat 
ten  's  place.  Lunde  lived  at  first  with  Kostvedt; 
thereupon  he  bought  land  in  section  three.  Some 
years  later  Lunde  sold  his  farm  to  Kittil  Rinden, 


244  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

oldest  son  of  Kittil  Rinden,  Sr.,  and  moved  to  Min 
nesota,  whither  Kostvedt  also  moved. 

On  the  third  of  August  a  small  group  of  immi 
grants  arrived  and  selected  a  home  and  settled  di 
rectly  west  of  West  Koshkonong  Church,  on  section 
fourteen.  These  were  Knut  A.  Juve,243  his  brother, 
Knut  Gjb'til  (or  Joitil),  and  his  sister,  Tone  Lien, 
then  a  widow.  Juve  owned  an  estate  in  Telemarken, 
which  he  sold  upon  deciding  to  emigrate,  in  May, 
1843.  They  sailed  on  the  brig  Washington,  which 
carried  eighty-six  passengers,  mostly  from  the  par 
ishes  of  Hvideseid  and  Laurdal.244  They  landed  in 
New  York  on  July  fourth.  It  was  the  intention  of 
the  members  of  this  party  to  settle  in  Illinois,  but 
in  Milwaukee  they  were  advised  against  doing  so; 
they  were  told  that  many  who  had  settled  in  Illinois 
had  later  moved  to  Wisconsin  and  bought  homes 
there.  Many  remained  in  Milwaukee,  some  went  di 
rect  to  Koshkonong,  while  others,  including  the  Juve 
party,  went  to  Wind  Lake,  in  Eacine  County.  Knut 
Juve  was  not  pleased  with  Wind  Lake.  One  day  he 
met  a  pioneer  settler  from  the  Town  of  Christiana, 
Dane  County,  who,  when  he  noticed  Juve's  down 
cast  condition,  said  to  him:  "Go  farther  west;  not 
until  you  get  to  Koshkonong  are  you  in  America. " 
Juve  acted  upon  the  advice ;  he  and  his  brother  and 
sister  started  west  soon  after,  arriving  in  the  Town 
of  Pleasant  Spring,  as  we  have  said,  on  the  third 

243  Knut  Juve  was  born  in  1799.     Knut  Joitil  in  1803. 

244  Most  of  them  in  fair  circumstances  says  Juve. 


EARLIEST  NORWEGIAN  SETTLERS          245 

day  of  August.  Half  a  mile  west  of  where  the  church 
was  built  two  years  later,  they  built  their  hut  of 
brushwood,  thatched  with  straw. 

"Our  furniture, "  says  Juve,245  "consisted  of 
a  few  chests,  that  were  used  both  as  table  and  chairs, 
while  the  bed  was  arranged  on  the  ground  on  some 
twigs  and  grass."  Here  they  lived  till  October, 
when  they  made  a  dugout,  in  which  they  lived  till 
the  following  summer.  Both  Juve  and  Joitil  were 
soon,  however,  taken  ill  with  the  climate  fever.  In 
the  interview  from  which  we  have  already  cited,  he 
speaks  of  how  many  a  time  during  his  illness  he 
longed  back  to  the  old  home,  kindred  and  friends  in 
his  native  land.  In  the  summer  of  1844  a  log  cabin 
was  built,  and  not  long  after  Joitil  and  the  widowed 
sister  also  had  erected  log  cabins  of  their  own  in  his 
immediate  neighborhood.  In  the  spring  of  1844 
Juve  broke  two  acres  of  ground  and  raised  a  little 
corn  and  potatoes ;  the  next  summer  he  raised  enough 
of  grain  and  potatoes  for  family  use ;  the  third  year 
he  was  able  to  sell  a  little.  Such  were  the  beginnings 
of  agriculture  in  the  wilderness. 

About  the  middle  of  August  a  large  number 
came  and  located  in  the  settlement.  Among  these 
were  Gunleik  T.  Sundbo  (b.1785),  with  wife  and 
three  sons,  two  of  whom  were  married  and  had  fam 
ilies.246  Others  who  came  were :  Tostein  G.  Bringa 
(b.  1817),  with  wife  and  son,  Halvor  Laurantson 


245  Interview  in  Billed-Magazin,  1870,  page  twenty-four. 

246  Torkild  Sundbo  and  wife,  Margit,  later  moved  to  Sun  Prairie. 


246  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Fosseim  (b.  1810),  and  family,  his  brother,  Ole  L. 
Fosseim,  and  Ole  K.  Dyrland  (b.  1819). 247  Sundbo, 
Bringa,  Fosseim  and  Dyrland  all  bought  land  not 
far  from  Knut  Juve  and  Knut  Joitil.  During  the 
next  two  months  the  following  arrived :  Torbjorn  G. 
Vik,  with  wife  and  son  Guttorm,  and  daughter  Anna 
from  Siljord,  Aslak  E.  Groven  (b.  1812),  and  fam 
ily,  from  Laurdal,  Ole  E.  Nasset  (b.  1796),  and  fam 
ily,  and  his  brother  Aadne,  from  Vinje,  and  Gunnar 
T.  Mandt,  from  Moe,  Telemarken.248  Groven  set 
tled  about  a  mile  east  of  the  West  Koshkonong 
Church  near  the  Christiana  Township  line;  the  two 
Naeset  brothers  also  located  near  there.  This  group 
of  immigrants  came  via  Eacine  County,  where  they 
had  remained  a  few  weeks  resting  after  the  journey, 
as  the  guests  of  Even  Heg.  They  arrived  on  Kosh 
konong  Prairie  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  hav 
ing  walked  from  Muskego.  Gunnar  Mandt  first  came 
to  Pleasant  Spring,  but  as  he  did  not  have  any 
thing249  with  which  to  buy  land,  as  he  says,  he  worked 
for  others  there  and  elsewhere  for  five  years.  From 
his  autobiographical  sketch250  I  cite  the  following 
account  of  the  method  of  threshing  in  those  days : 

"  There   were   no    mowers,    no    reapers,    binders    or 
threshing  machines,  everything  had  to  be  done  by  hand. 

247  Dyrland  says  there  were  211  immigrants  on  the  ship  on  which 
he  came,  and  most  of  these,  it  seems,  were  from  Telemarken. 

248  His  brother,  also  named  Gunnar,  came  to  America  in  1848 ; 
T.  G.  Mandt,  inventor  of  the  Stoughton  wagon,  was  a  son  of  the  latter. 

249  Endre  Vraa  paid  his  passage  to  America. 

250  Published  in  Amcrilca  and  Skandinaven  in  January,  1906. 


EARLIEST  NORWEGIAN  SETTLERS         247 

When  we  were  to  thrash,  the  sheaves  of  wheat  or  oats 
were  placed  on  the  ground  in  a  large  circle.  Then  three 
or  four  yoke  of  oxen  were  tied  together  with  an  iron 
chain;  one  man  stood  in  the  center  of  the  circle  on  the 
sheaves  of  grain  and  drove  the  oxen  around  over  the 
grain.  These  would  then  stamp  the  kernels  out  of  the 
straw  little  by  little,  and  so  we  kept  on,  until  we  had  the 
sheaves  replaced  by  new  ones  and  got  the  straw  away. 
For  cleansing  the  grain  thus  secured,  we  used  short  basins 
or  bowls  such  as  were  made  in  Norway  formerly.  After 
a  while  we  got  a  kind  of  fanning-mill,  mower,  reaper, 
etc.  But  they  were  imperfect  and  cannot  be  compared 
with  the  machines  and  implements  used  nowadays." 

Gunnar  Mandt  worked  in  Chicago  during  the 
years  184445,  where  he  got  seventy-five  cents  a  day, 
but  had  to  furnish  his  own  keep.  In  1846  he  return 
ed  to  Pleasant  Spring;  in  April,  1848,  he  married 
Synneva  Olsdatter  Husebo,  from  Systrond,  Sogn, 
who  had  come  to  America  with  her  parents  in  1844. 
Having  secured  his  own  farm  (on  section  nine)  he 
farmed  there  until  1875,  when  he  moved  to  the  vil 
lage  of  Stoughton.  Gunnar  Mandt  died  in  Decem 
ber,  1907,  his  wife  having  died  a  month  earlier. 

The  greater  part  of  nine  sections  (13-15  and  22- 
27)  in  this  part  of  the  Township  of  Pleasant  Spring, 
was  settled  before  the  winter  of  1843-44.  Knut  Eoe 
says  that,  while  he  was  alone  there  when  he  came  in 
June,  he  had  neighbors  on  all  sides  before  winter 
came,  although  the  distance  between  the  pioneer  cab 
ins  was,  of  course,  considerable.  The  year  1844 
brought  a  large  influx  of  settlers,  chiefly  from  Tele- 


248  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

marken,  but  in  part  also  from  Voss.  Among  them 
I  shall  here  speak  only  of  Hendrik  Hseve  and  family, 
from  Voss,  who  located  somewhat  farther  north,  on 
section  one,  on  the  property  later  owned  and  occu 
pied  by  his  oldest  son,  Ole  Haeve  (Havey) ;  Anfin  0. 
Holtan  and  family  from  Sogn,  who  settled  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  town  on  section  thirty- six, 
where  the  son,  Ole  Holtan,  later  lived ;  and  Ole  Iver- 
son  and  his  wife  Angeline  and  son  Lewis. 

There  were  a  few  others,  as  Aanund  0.  Drot- 
ning,  from  Vinje,  and  Knut  H.  Teisberg,  from  Laur- 
dal,  Telemarken,  who  came  to  America  in  1843,  but 
they,  too,  settled  elsewhere  first;  we  shall  have  oc 
casion  to  speak  of  them  again.  Finally,  relative  to 
Knut  Eoe,  I  may  add  that  he  and  his  wife  continued 
to  live  on  the  old  homestead  till  their  death ;  he  died 
as  early  as  1874,  but  she  lived  till  1908,  being  then 
a  little  over  ninety  years  of  age.  The  homestead  was 
owned  by  the  oldest  son,  Helleik.  On  the  occasion  of 
Mrs.  K.  Koe's  ninetieth  birthday,  all  her  children, 
eight  grandchildren  and  twenty-five  great-grand 
children,  gathered  at  the  old  home  to  commemorate 
the  event.251 

We  shall  now  turn  to  Dunkirk  Township,  the 
earliest  settling  of  which  also  dates  from  1843. 


251  Ole  K.  Eoe  of  Stoughton,  is  a  son  of  K.  Roe;  other  children 
are:  Mrs.  F.  Johnson,  Mrs.  Ole  Thorsen,  Mrs.  O.  Swerig  and  Mrs. 
J.  King.  Since  the  above  was  written  I  have  learned  that  Helleik 
Roe  has  died  (April,  1909). 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

The  First  Norwegian  Settlers  in  the  Townships  of 

Dunkirk,  Dunn,  and  Cottage  Grove,  in 

Dane  County,  Wisconsin. 

The  first  Norwegian  settler  in  the  Town  of  Dun 
kirk  was  John  Nelson  Luraas.  Together  with  Helge 
Grimsrud  he  had  explored  Dunkirk  and  surrounding 
country  in  the  fall  of  1842  and  selected  a  site  on 
which  to  settle.  His  father,  Nils  Johnson  Luraas 
(b.  1789),  arrived  from  Norway  in  June,  1843,  and 
came  with  his  son  direct  from  Muskego  to  Kosh- 
konong,  where  the  party  arrived  on  June  sixteenth. 
An  American  by  the  name  of  John  Wheeler  had  set 
tled  in  the  town  two  weeks  earlier,  being  the  only 
white  man  there.252  Luraas  settled  on  section  three, 
about  two  miles  east  of  the  present  city  of  Stough- 
ton,  and  three  miles  south  of  where  his  companion, 
Knut  Eoe,  located  in  the  Town  of  Pleasant  Spring. 
Only  about  a  week  after  Luraas 's  arrival,  two  more 
families,  who  also  came  from  Muskego,  arrived  and 
settled  there,  namely,  Helge  Sivertson  Grimsrud, 
wife  Birgitte,  son  Sigurd,  and  Hans  P.  Tverberg 
and  wife  Ingeborg,  and  John  P.  Tverberg.  The  for- 

252  Herein  I  accept  the  authority  of  Billed-Magazin.  The  History 
of  Dane  County,  however,  says  that  John  Luraae  was  the  first  white 
settler  in  the  town,  Chauncey  Isham  and  John  Wheeler  coming  soon 
after. 


250  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

mer  had  emigrated  from  Norway  (via  Drammen  and 
Gothenburg)  the  year  before,  while  Tverberg  had 
come  in  1841.  They  were  all  from  Tin,  in  Tele- 
marken.  Helge  Grimsrud  possessed  considerable 
means  in  Norway  and  owned  a  fine  estate,  which  he 
sold  upon  emigrating.  Grimsrud  bought  land  in 
section  two,  directly  east  of  Luraas,  while  Tverberg 
settled  a  mile  south  of  Luraas  in  section  ten.253  The 
next  settler  was  Gaute  Ingbrigtson  Gulliksrud  (b. 
1815),  from  Tin,  Telemarken,  who  arrived  there 
five  weeks  later,  that  is,  in  August.254  He  came  in  a 
a  party  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  persons, 
mostly  from  Telemarken,  embarking  at  Skien,  and 
sailed  via  Havre  de  Grace  to  New  York.  Most  of  the 
party  went  temporarily  to  Muskego.  Gulliksrud  did 
not  like  Muskego,  and  soon  after  set  out  for  Kosh- 
konong.  Having  selected  a  location  for  his  home, 
he  bought,  for  $200,  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
land,  near  his  countrymen,  chiefly  in  section  ten,  and 
erected  his  log  cabin  a  short  distance  north  of  Hans 
Tverberg 's  home. 

There  were  then  in  the  fall  of  1843  four  Nor 
wegian  families  settled  in  the  Town  of  Dunkirk.    In 

253  Helge  Grimsrud 's  wife  'B  parents  and  a  sister  had  emigrated  in 
1841  and  located  in   Muskego.     Upon  returning  to   Muskego   from 
Koshkonong  in  the  fall  of  1842,  Grimsrud  went  direct  to  Milwaukee 
and  bought  240  acres  of  land,  being  the  first  to  purchase  land  in  Dun 
kirk.     He  died  in  1856. 

254  Two  of  his  maternal  uncles  and  a  brother  had  emigrated  in 
1839  and  located  in  Muskego;   letters  from  these  induced  them  to 
emigrate. 


FIRST  NORWEGIAN  SETTLERS  251 

the  following  year  a  considerable  number  of  immi 
grants  came  from  Norway  (Telemarken,  Voss,  and 
Sogn)  but  Dunkirk  did  not  receive  many  of  those 
who  came  that  year;  they  settled  mostly  in  Christi 
ana  or  Pleasant  Spring,  while  some  now  began  to 
find  homes  in  Cottage  Grove  and  Dunn,  immediately 
north  and  west  of  Pleasant  Spring. 

The  first  Norwegian  settlers  in  the  Town  of 
Dunn  were  Nils  Ellefson  Mastre  and  Lars  Mastre, 
who  had  come  to  America  in  1845;  they  located  in 
Dunn,  just  across  the  Pleasant  Spring  line  soon  after 
arriving ;  American  families  had  settled  in  the  town 
ship  before  them.  Ingebrigt  Johnson  Helle,  from 
Kragero,  was  the  next  settler  there,  but  he  didn't 
enter  Dunn  until  1849 ;  he  emigrated  in  1845  but  had 
worked  in  Buffalo  four  years. 

John  0.  Hougen,  from  Solor,  Norway,  was  the 
first  Norwegian  to  settle  in  Cottage  Grove,  where  he 
came  in  the  summer  of  1842,  consequently  a  year  be 
fore  Eoe  and  others  came  to  Pleasant  Spring.  Hou 
gen  had  been  a  baker  in  Christiana  and  usually  went 
by  the  name  of  John  Baker  (or  Bager).  Some  years 
later  he  removed  to  Coon  Prairie,  in  Vernon  County, 
Wisconsin.  Bjorn  Tovsen  Vasberg,  from  Laurdal, 
Telemarken,  also  located  in  Cottage  Grove  in  the 
summer  of  1842.  Nothing  seems  to  be  known  of  his 
antecedents,  and  little  that  is  favorable  seems  to  be 
known  of  him  during  his  brief  career  in  the  town 
ship.  He  later  moved  to  Minnesota,  where  he  lived, 
it  seems,  a  roving  life,  being  at  last  found  dead  on 


252  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

the  public  highway.  He  was  a  notorious,  and  as  far 
as  I  know,  the  only  instance  of  the  vagabond  and 
ne'er-do-well  among  the  Norwegian  pioneers  of 
those  days.  The  next  Norwegian  settler  in  the  Town 
of  Cottage  Grove  was  Halvor  Kostvedt,255  from  Vinje 
Parish,  who  emigrated  in  the  spring  of  1842 ;  he  lived 
for  a  year  in  Christiana  Township,  and  came  to  Cot 
tage  Grove  in  the  summer  of  1843  and  made  a  dugout 
on  section  twenty-four,  in  which  he  lived  the  first 
year.  Others  who  came  on  the  same  ship  were  Alex 
ander  0.  Baekhus  (or  Norman),  Ole  A.  Haatvedt  and 
Osmund  Lunde.  The  first  of  these  located  in  Chris 
tiana,  but  later  moved  to  Minnesota;  Ole  Haatvedt 
settled  on  Jefferson  Prairie,  whence  some  years  later 
he  went  to  Iowa,  while  Asmund  Lunde,  after  re 
maining  a  year  in  Muskego,  came  to  Pleasant  Spring, 
as  we  have  seen,  in  the  summer  of  1843.  Ole  Tro- 
vatten,  whom  we  have  already  met,  both  in  Muskego 
and  in  Pleasant  Spring,  came  to  Cottage  Grove  in 
the  fall  of  1843.  Trovatten  is  reputed  to  have  been 
a  man  of  unusual  natural  gifts  and  considerable  el 
oquence.  He  served  as  deacon  in  West  Koshkonong 
and  Liberty  Prairie  churches  for  many  years,  a  ca 
pacity  in  which  he  had  officiated  also  in  Norway.  He 
later  affiliated  with  the  East  Koshkonong  Church, 
which  congregation  he,  with  0.  P.  Selseng,  repre 
sented  on  the  occasion  of  the  founding  of  the  Nor- 


255  Called  also  Halvor  i  Vinje. 


EARLIEST  NORWEGIAN  SETTLERS         253 

wegian  Synod  in  East  Koshkonong  Church,  on  Feb 
ruary  5th,  1853.256 

Asmund  Aslakson  Naestestu,  with  wife  and  fam 
ily,  came  to  Muskego  in  the  fall  of  1843,  where  he 
worked  as  a  blacksmith  for  six  months.  He  removed 
to  Koshkonong  early  the  next  spring,  going  direct 
to  Halvor  Kostvedt,  with  whom  he  lived  in  the  dug 
out  the  first  summer.  In  1847  he  bought  land  in  the 
same  locality.  Naestestu257  is  said  to  have  been 
famed  in  Norway  as  a  mechanical  genius  of  rare 
talent.  On  one  occasion  King  Carl  Johan  was  shown 
a  gun  made  by  the  farmer's  son  in  Vinje;  the  King 
afterwards  sent  Asmund  Naestestu  a  silver  cup  as 
a  token  of  his  pleasure  over  the  excellent  workman 
ship  of  the  gun.  Asmund  Naestestu  bought  a  farm 
a  mile  and  a  half  northwest  of  Nora  Post  Office  in 
1854,  where  he,  in  the  course  of  time,  became  the 
owner  of  two  hundred  acres.  Among  others  who 
came  to  America  with  Asmund  Naestestu  in  1843  and 
later  settled  in  Cottage  Grove,  were  Naestestu 's 
nephews,  Aslak  and  Halvor  Olson  Baekhus  (or 
Gjergjord  as  they  called  themselves  in  this  country), 


256  Page  15  of  Eort  Uddrag  of  den  norske  Synodes  Historic,  by 
Rev.  Jacob  Aal  Ottesen,  Decorah,  1893. 

257  Asmund  Naestestu  was  the  son  of  Aslak  Naestestu,  a  man  of 
much  native  ability  and  influence  in  Vinje.     Anna  Naestestu,  a  daugh 
ter  of  Aslak,  married  Ole  Bsekhus;    they  were  the  parents  of   the 
Baekhus    (Gjergjord)    brothers  of  whom   we  shall  speak  in  the  next 
chapter. 


254  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Bjorn  0.  Hustvedt,  Halvor  Donstad  and  Knut  Teis- 
berg.258 

Finally  I  shall  add  the  names  of  Bjorn  A.  Ston- 
dall  and  Bjorn  Stevens  Hustvedt,  two  of  Cottage 
Grove's  well  known  early  pioneers,  who  emigrated 
in  1843  and  stopped  through  the  winter  in  Muskego ; 
thence  they  came  to  Koshkonong,  locating  in  Cottage 
Grove  in  the  spring  of  1844.259  Bjorn  Stondal  was 
from  Vinje,  in  Telemarken,  being  born  on  the  farm 
Naestestu  in  Bograend  in  1823.  He  sailed  on  the  ship 
Vinterflid  from  Porsgrund  in  the  spring  of  1843,  as 
he  relates.260  They  were  eleven  weeks  on  the  ocean 
before  reaching  New  York.  The  objective  point  was 
Milwaukee  and  the  Muskego  settlement;  here  they 
stopped  during  the  winter  with  an  American  by  the 
name  of  Putnam, — seven  persons  in  a  hut  that  was 
fourteen  feet  long  and  ten  feet  wide.  In  the  spring 
of  1844  he  walked  west  to  Koshkonong,  where  he  de 
cided  to  buy  eighty  acres  of  land  in  section  thirty- 
two  in  southern  Cottage  Grove,  and  begin  the  occu 
pation  of  a  farmer.  Four  years  later  he  married 
Gunhild  Bergland.  Bjorn  Stondal  died  in  April, 
1906,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three,  survived  by  his  wife 
and  nine  children. 


258  They  came  in  the  same  ship  as  Knut  Joitil  and  Anund  Drotn- 
ing,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  located  in  Pleasant  Spring.     Knut  Teis- 
berg  moved  from  Cottage  Grove  to  Pleasant  Spring  in  1846. 

259  Hustvedt  wrote  his  name  Ben  Stevens. 

260  According  to  interview  printed  in  Amerika. 


CHAPTEE  XXX 

The  Expansion  of  the  Koshkonong  Settlement  into 

Sumner  and  Oakland  Townships  in  Jefferson 

County.    Increased  Immigration  from  Tel- 

emarken.    New  Settlers  from  Kragero, 

Drammen  and  Numedal. 

In  our  discussion  of  the  settling  of  Koshkonong 
by  immigrants  from  Numedal  in  1840-42,  mention 
was  made  of  Tore  Knudson  Nore  and  wife  Gjertud 
among  those  who  arrived  in  1842.  Tore  Nore  did 
not,  however,  locate  in  Christiana  or  Albion  town 
ships,  where  his  compatriots  had  settled.  He  select 
ed  land  about  three  miles  southeast  of  where  Gunnul 
Vindeig  had  located,  across  the  Jefferson  County  line 
in  what  later  was  namer  Sumner  Township.  Tore 
Nore,  who  was  then  a  man  of  about  forty  years  of 
age  and  had  a  large  family,  had  emigrated  in  the 
spring  of  1842,  but  had  not,  as  the  immigrants  from 
Numedal  so  far  had  generally  done,  gone  to  Jeffer 
son  Prairie  or  Eock  Prairie,  but  had  stopped  in 
Muskego.  Being  dissatisfied  here,  he  decided  to  go 
to  Koshkonong.  Taking  his  family  with  him,  he 
arrived  there  about  October  first  of  that  year.  Soon 
after  he  erected  his  log  cabin  in  Sumner,261  being, 
therefore,  the  first  Norwegian  to  settle  in  that  part 

261  This  log-cabin  was  still  standing  not  many  years  ago. 


256  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

of  Jefferson  County,  his  being  the  second  family  to 
enter  the  township  of  Sumner.262  Here  he  lived  till 
his  death  in  1868,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six.  Gjertrud 
Nore  died  in  1884.  Three  sons  are  prosperous  farm 
ers  living  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  father's  orig 
inal  homestead.  A  daughter,  Gro,  married  Peder 
Larsen  Svartskuren  (or  Svartskor)  in  Norway,  in 
June,  1842.  They  became  the  second  Norwegian 
family  to  settle  in  the  township.  Peder  Svartskuren 
was  a  native  of  Konigsberg,  Norway,  being,  as  it 
appears,  the  third  emigrant  to  America  from  that 
locality.263 

In  an  interview  with  Svein  Nilson  printed  in 
1870,  Peder  Svartskuren  mentions  Bjorn  Anderson 
(Kvelve),  Amund  Hornefjeld,  Gunnul  Vindeig  and 
Thorsten  Olson  as  being  the  only  Norwegians  living 
in  the  neighboring  towns  of  Albion  and  Christiana 
when  he  came  there.  He  speaks  of  Sumner  Town 
ship  as  being  a  heavy  primeval  forest,  with  only  here 
and  there  a  stretch  of  open  country.  "  There  was  an 
abundance  of  game,  deers  and  prairie  chickens,  and 
the  lake  (Koshkonong)  and  creek  were  full  of  fish. 
The  Indians  were  roving  about  the  country,  but  they 
did  no  one  any  harm  and  were  kindly  and  ever  ready 
to  help." 

Mrs.  Svartskuren,  who  is  now  eighty- seven 
years  old  and  quite  feeble,  has,  since  1902,  lived  at 


262  An  American  family  had  come  there  before  him. 

263  The  first  emigrants  from  Kongsberg  were  Thomas  Braaten, 
and  Halvor  Funkelien. 


EXPANSION  OF  KOSHKONONG  SETTLEMENT     257 

Leeds,  North  Dakota,  with  a  son,  Carl,  he  having 
sold  the  homestead  after  the  father's  death,  and 
moved  to  Viroqua,  "Wisconsin,  and  later  to  Leeds. 
Peder  Svartskuren  was  among  the  founders  of  the 
East  Koshkonong  Church;  he  was  a  man  of  strong 
character,  who  enjoyed  in  large  degree  the  love  and 
the  respect  of  his  fellows. 

The  Town  of  Surnner  did  not  receive  many  acces 
sions  from  Norway.  In  the  same  interview  Svart 
skuren  says : ' i  There  are  now  twelve  Norwegian  fam 
ilies,  besides  six  Swedish  families.  The  rest  are 
German  and  English. " 

The  Town  of  Oakland,  Jefferson  County,  also 
received  a  few  settlers  at  this  early  period.  The 
earliest  arrival  there  was,  I  believe,  Tollef  Baekhus 
and  wife,  Aasild;  they  came  to  Koshkonong  in  1843 
and  located  two  miles  east  of  the  village  of  Rock- 
dale.  They  were  from  Laurdal  Parish,  in  Upper 
Telemarken,  had  been  married  in  1838,  and  had  two 
children  when  they  came  to  this  country.  Tollef 
Bsekhus  died  in  1897,  the  widow  lived  until  1906,  be 
ing  ninety  years  old  at  the  time  of  her  death.  A  son, 
John  Baekhus,  now  owns  the  homestead. 264 

In  Chapter  XVIII  above  we  gave  an  account  of 
the  founding  of  the  Koshkonong  Settlement,  which 
began  in  the  townships  of  Christiana,  Deerfield  and 
Albion,  in  1840-41.  We  spoke  briefly  of  the  founders 
and  of  those  who  came  and  joined  the  three  groups 
of  pathfinders  in  the  following  year.  In  Chapter 

264  They  had  twelve  children  in  all. 


258  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

XXVIII  a  similar  record  has  been  given  of  the  events 
which  led  to  the  settling  of  the  Town  of  Pleasant 
Spring  by  four  families  in  1843,  and  by  others  in 
the  following  year.  We  have  also  observed  how  the 
towns  of  Dunkirk  and  Cottage  Grove  became  settled 
in  1843,  and  that  Dunn  received  its  first  Norwegian 
settlers  in  1844.  The  towns  of  Sumner  and  Oakland, 
in  Jefferson  County,  in  the  eastern  extremity  of 
Koshkonong  Prairie  also  received  a  small  contingent 
of  Norwegian  immigrant  settlers  in  1842  and  1843 
respectively.  The  original  nucleus  and  the  subse 
quent  expansions  of  the  settlement,  east,  west  and 
north,  are  thereby  indicated. 

In  four  years  after  its  inception,  the  settlement 
covered  an  area  of  about  fifteen  square  miles.  But 
the  settlers  lived,  for  the  most  part,  far  apart;  geo 
graphically  they  had  made  ample  provisions  for  a 
great  settlement  in  this  garden  spot  of  Wisconsin. 
While  there  were  as  yet  (in  1843)  not  more  than  a 
hundred  and  fifty  individuals  in  the  settlement,  there 
was  room  for  thousands  more  without  going  beyond 
the  boundary  as  already  laid  out.  The  beginning 
made  in  a  few  years  was  remarkable,  but  the  growth 
in  the  years  immediately  following  was  even  more 
wonderful.  For  a  time  Koshkonong  was  the  desti 
nation  of  four-fifths  of  those  who  emigrated  from 
Norway. 

The  year  1842  records  the  beginning  of  the  great 
development,  which  in  five  years  resulted  in  the  set 
tling  of  almost  the  whole  of  this  vast  area  by  immi- 


EXPANSION  OF  KOSHKONONG  SETTLEMENT     259 

grants  from  Norway.  The  next  year  was  that  of  the 
great  influx  from  various  points  in  Telemarken,  es 
pecially,  Siljord,  Laurdal  and  Hvideseid,  although 
there  were  considerable  numbers  also  from  Vinje 
and  Tin.  The  year  1843  was  the  one  in  which  the 
Telemarkings  took  possession  of  Koshkonong;  they 
gradually  selected  their  permanent  homes  in  Pleas 
ant  Spring,  extending  into  Dunkirk  and  Cottage 
Grove  and  the  northeastern  sections  of  Christiana 
(as  Eggleson,  Bjoin,  Hauge,  Borgerud,  Bosbon  and 
Kingland).  The  Numedalians  came  only  in  limited 
numbers  after  1842  and  did  not  spread  much  be 
yond  the  original  center  around  East  Koshkonong 
church  in  southeastern  Christiana  and  northern  Al 
bion  townships.  Those  on  the  extreme  west  were 
Levi  Kittilson,  Levi  Holtan,  0.  0.  Lenaas  and  Tore 
E.  Smithback,  all  coming  somewhat  later  than  those 
in  the  eastern  extremity.  The  immigration  from 
Numedal,  which  began  in  Eollaug,  is  after  1842  al 
most  confined  to  Flesberg,  a  parish  which  furnished 
no  immigrants  before  1842. 

In  the  year  1843,  there  came  to  Koshkonong, 
35  families  and  many  single  persons,  or  a  total  of 
182  individuals.  This  was  the  year  of  heaviest  im 
migration  to  Koshkonong.  The  year's  influx  is  sig 
nificant  in  the  large  number  of  districts  in  Norway 
represented,  Telemarken  leading  as  has  been  pointed 
out  above.  In  addition  to  9  persons  from  Numedal, 
and  a  small  contingent  from  Voss,  the  first  party 
of  fourteen  persons  arrived  from  Kragero.  These 


260  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

first  immigrants  from  Kragero  were:  Bjorn  0. 
Eom,  Kjostolf  Tollefsen  Hulderoen265  (b.  1821), 
Even  E.  Buaas  (b.  1799),  Abraham  K.  Eonningen, 
Erick  K.  Eonningen,  Halvor  E.  Dahl  (b.  1802),  wife 
Anne,  and  family,  Torbjorn  K.  Eonningen,  Glus  P. 
Tyvang  and  wife,  Audi,  and  Peder  K.  Eonningen. 
From  Leikanger  in  Sogn 266  Anna  L.  Eggum  (or  Eg- 
gene,  b.  1811),  who  in  1845  married  Sjur  C.  Droks- 
vold,  from  Voss;  from  Lier  came  Knut  0.  Lier,  as 
also  the  widow  Anne  Thorstad,  Knut  Asdohldalen 
and  Gabriel  Bjornson  (from  Dram  men) ;  from 
Drangedal  came  Baruld  J.  Strandskougen  and  fam 
ily,  from  Sandsvaerd,  Ellef  A.  Berg,  from  Skauger, 
Halvor  J.  Stubberud,  from  Eogen,  Lars  P.  Haukelien 
and  family,  from  Holte,  Tarald  E.  Midboe,  from 
Gjerpen,  Peder  H.  Moe,  and  from  Hallingdal,  Even 
Olson. 

We  have  noted  the  fact  above  that  there  came 
for  the  first  time  in  1843  a  group  of  immigrants 
from  Flesberg  Parish  in  Numedal.  We  shall  note 
here  briefly  who  these  were.  For  the  facts  I  am 
indebted  to  Mrs.  Levi  Holtan,  formerly  of  Utica, 
at  present  of  Stoughton,  Wisconsin.  The  name  of 
the  ship  on  which  these  people  came,  Mrs.  Hol 
tan  cannot  remember,  but  it  was  commanded  by  Cap 
tain  Overvind;  the  first  mate  was  Friis.  In  the 
party  of  ninety  persons  were :  Halvor  Kjolen,  Juul 

265  Came  to  Muskego  in  1843,  went  back  to  Norway  and  returned, 
settling  in  Koshkonong  in  1846. 

266  There  was  one  immigrant  from  Aurland,  Sogn,  in  1843,  but 
he  stopped  the  first  winter  in  Muskego.     See  next  chapter. 


EXPANSION  OF  KOSHKONONG  SETTLEMENT     261 

Hamre  and  wife  Anne,  Tostein  Ullebaer  and  Halvor 
Aasen,  who  went  to  Jefferson  Prairie, 267  Gulleik 
Laugen,  who  stopped  in  Eochester,  but  soon  after 
came  west,  locating  on  Eock  Prairie,  Paal  ("Spelle- 
man")  Lund,  Guldbrand  G.  Holtan,  a  widower,  his 
brother  Ole  G.  Holtan, 268  Knut  K.  Bakli  and  Kittil 
G.  Bakli  and  families,  Ambjor  Olsdatter  and  Syn- 
nove  Kristoffersdatter  Bekkjorden  from  Lyngdal 
Annex  of  Flesberg.  This  was  the  ship  on  which 
also  Per  Svartskuren  and  wife  Gro,  Knut  Lier  and 
Baruld  Johnson  came  on.269  In  the  same  party  emi 
grated  also  Klemet  Larson  Stalsbraaten  and  wife 
Gunild,  and  his  brother  Halvor  Stalsbraaten  (Kra- 
vik)  from  Sigdal  in  Numedal.  Halvor  Stalsbraaten 
took  the  name  Kravik  from  the  estate  where  he  had 
worked  five  years  before  emigrating.  Eeverend 
Kasberg  writes  me,  citing  Halvor  Kravik,  that  they 
(the  Stalsbraatens) 

"Bought  tickets  for  America  at  Konigsberg  Fair,  left 
Drammen  May  6  ult,  1843,  arrived  at  New  York  July 
fourth,  ninety  passengers  on  the  ship/'  *  *  *  "The  com 
pany  of  immigrants  went  from  Milwaukee  to  Muskego. 
Halvor  Kravik  and  a  young  boy  from  Sandsvaerd  walked 
to  Koshkonong,  arriving  Friday  evening.  Monday  morn- 


267  Eev.  K.  A.  Kasberg,  of  Spring  Grove,  Minn.,  writes  me  that 
Halvor  Kravik  in  speaking  of  some  of  these  people  says  Halvor  Aasen 
went  to  Rock  Run  as  did  also  Paal  ' '  Spellemand. "     He  also  adds 
the  name  Gunnar  Springen  who,  he  says,  went  to  Rock  Prairie. 

268  As  I  learn  through  Rev.  G.  A.  Larsen. 

269  The  name  of  the  ship,  as  we  learn  elsewhere,  was  Heroules. 
See  above  page  228. 


262  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

ing  Halvor  was  at  work  for  one  of  the  Englishmen  further 
south.  Kravik  took  a  claim  in  1844.  During  the  winter 
he  staid  with  Gunnul  Vindeg,  sleeping  in  the  part  of  the 
house  occupied  at  the  time  by  Rev.  Dietrichson,  while  the 
parsonage  was  being  built." 

The  rest  of  the  party  also  came  to  Koshkonong 
a  short  while  after,  except  those  who  went  to  Rock 
County.  Ole  G.  Holtan  (b.  1821)  and  Ambjor  Olsdat- 
ter  (b.  1821)  were  married  a  few  weeks  after  arriv 
ing;  Ole  Holtan  died  in  1851,  leaving  wife  and  two 
children,  Anna  and  Ole.  Anna  later  became  the  wife 
of  Levor  Kittilsen  Fjose  (Levi  Kittilsen)  well  known 
farmer  and  prominent  in  the  councils  of  the  West 
Koshkonong  Church.  27°  Ambjor,  widow  of  Ole  G. 
Holtan,  married  Nils  Torgerson  Grotrud  in  1852 ;  he 
had  come  to  America  in  1849.271 

We  have,  on  page  183  above,  spoken  of  Lars  J. 
Holo,  who  was  the  earliest  immigrant  from  Eings- 
aker  (1839).  From  Eochester,  New  York,  he  came 
to  Muskego,  Eacine  County,  Wisconsin,  in  1841;  in 
1843  he  located  permanently  on  Koshkonong.  His 
son  Johannes  also  settled  on  Koshkonong,  as  also  the 
sons  Lars  and  Martin  Holo.  The  latter  now  owns 
the  farm  originally  purchased  in  Albion  Township 

270  Levi  Kittilsen   died   suddenly  in   1907;    the  widow  is  living 
(at  Stoughton) ;  a  daughter,  Andrea,  is  married  to  Rev.  Abel  Lien, 
Ada,  Minn.;  a  son,  Carl,  is  in  Nome,  Alaska.     Dr.  Albert  N.  Kittil 
sen,  another  son,  owns  valuable  mines  at  Nome,  Alaska;  he  is  living 
in  the  State  of  Washington. 

271  Nils  Grotrud  assumed  the  farm  name  Holtan  and  is  there 
fore  Nils  T.  Holtan.     He  located  first  on  the  Holtan  farm  south  of 
Utica.     About  1868  the  family  settled  two  miles  east  of  Utica. 


EXPANSION  OF  KOSHKONONG  SETTLEMENT     263 

by  Bjorn  Kvelve.  Halvor  Kravik  (b.  1820)  was  the 
son  of  Lars  A.  Stalsbraaten  and  wife  Maria.  In  1845 
he  married  Kristi  Guldbrandson,  who  had  come  to 
America  in  1842.  They  bought  land  and  settled  per 
manently  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  south  of 
East  Koshkonong  Church  at  what  came  to  be  called 
Kravikhaugen  (the  Kravik  hill).  The  homestead 
has  now  for  many  years  been  occupied  by  the  oldest 
son,  Lars  C.  Kravik.  Since  about  1899,  Halvor  and 
his  wife  lived  with  their  son-in-law,  Rev.  K.  A.  Kas- 
berg,  in  Stoughton,  Wisconsin,  later  in  Grand  Forks, 
North  Dakota,  now  for  several  years  past  at  Spring 
Grove,  Houston  County,  Minnesota.  Mrs.  Kravik 
died  a  year  ago;  Mr.  Kravik  in  February,  1909. 

Kjostolf  Hulderoen  (Hulroya),  who  came  to 
Muskego  in  1843,  went  back  to  Norway  two  years 
later,  but  returned  to  America  in  1846,  settling  on 
Koshkonong,  at  Cambridge.  In  1848  he  married 
Haege  0.  Sube,  who  had  come  from  Telemarken  to 
this  country  that  year.  In  1853  he  started  a  general 
merchandise  business  in  Bockdale,  Dane  County, 
where  he  lived  till  his  death  in  1889.  The  widow  is 
living  with  her  oldest  daughter  Mrs.  John  Halvorson 
in  Rockdale.  A  son,  Charlie  C.  Tellefson,  one  of 
Dane  County's  prominent  democrats,  resides  at  Uti- 
ca,  Wisconsin. 

Gabriel  Bjornson  was  one  of  the  few  who  came 
to  Koshkonong  from  the  region  of  Drammen.  He 
married  Gunhild  Grb'trud,  sister  of  Nils  T.  Holtan 
(Grotrud).  Bjornson  is  said  to  have  been  the  first 


264  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Norwegian  to  be  admitted  to  the  bar  in  this  coun 
try.  He  died  in  Ada,  Minnesota,  in  1889 ;  he  was  at 
that  time  County  Attorney  of  Norman  County. 

There  were  two  families  from  Voss,  who  had  im 
migrated  earlier  among  those  who  settled  permanent 
ly  on  Koshkonong  in  1843,  namely  Styrk  Olson  Saue, 
who,  we  have  seen,  came  to  America  in  1837,  and 
Gulleik  Torsteinson  Saue,  who  immigrated  in  1840; 
they  had  lived  most  of  the  time  in  Chicago.  There 
Styrk  Saue  married  Eli  K.  Vaete;  she  died  at  Deer- 
field  about  1885.  Styrk  died  in  1894.  Gulleik  Saue 
(b.  1821)  married  Donant  Eolje  in  1844.  They 
purchased  land  in  northern  Christiania,  not  far  from 
Cambridge ;  here,  and  in  neighboring  parts  of  Deer- 
field.  Township,  Gulleik  Thompson,  as  he  called  him 
self,  became  in  the  course  of  time  the  owner  of  about 
1,000  acres  of  farm  land.  At  the  time  of  his  death 
he  was  Koshkonong 's  wealthiest  farmer.  His  son, 
Hon.  T.  G.  Thompson,  occupies  the  old  home  and 
owns  the  estate. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

The  Coming  of  the  First  Large  Party  of  Immigrants 
from  Sogn.    New  Accessions  from  Voss. 

It  has  been  noted  above  that  one  of  the  earliest 
pioneers  at  Wiota,  La  Fayette  County,  Wisconsin, 
was  from  Vik  Parish  in  Sogn,  namely,  Per  Unde 
who  emigrated  in  1839.  In  1842  Ole  Unde  came  and 
joined  his  brother  at  Wiota.  In  1843  Ole  Schaer- 
dalen272  came  to  America  from  Aurland,  Sogn;  he 
was  the  first  emigrant  from  that  parish.  It  has  been 
said  that  there  was  a  party  of  immigrants  from 
Sogn  in  1843,  but  this  I  doubt  as  I  have  been  able 
nowhere  to  verify  it.  Ole  Schaerdalen  went  to  Mus- 
kego  where  he  stopped  the  first  year,  then  he  joined 
the  party  of  Sognings  who  came  that  year  and  passed 
through  Muskego  en  route  for  Koshkonong.  Per 
and  Ole  Unde  wrote  letters  home  to  Vik  Parish;  in 
response  to  these  letters,  full  of  praise  for  Wiscon 
sin,  there  came  many  immigrants  from  Vik  during 
the  next  two  years.  Ole  Schaerdalen  in  a  similar  way 
aided  in  promoting  emigration  from  Inner  Sogn. 

In  Aurland  Parish  lived  Ole  Tor  jus  sen  Flom ;  he 
had  travelled  much  in  Norway  and  come  in  contact 
with  people  who  had  relatives  and  friends  in  Amer- 

272  So  written,  but  pronounced  Schirdalen  in  the  dialect.  My 
father  is  the  authority  for  the  statement  that  Schaerdalen  was  the 
first  to  emigrate  from  Aurland. 


266  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

ica,  and  who  themselves  were  planning  to  emigrate. 
He  was  well  acquainted  with  Schaerdalen  and  he  had 
been  in  Vik  and  knew,  it  seems,  the  Unde  family. 
Ole  T.  Flom  (b.  1794)  was  the  son  of  Torjus  Flom 
(b.  about  1765)  generally  called  Tor  jus  i  Midgarden, 
who  was  the  owner  of  a  valuable  estate  at  Flaam 
near  Fretheim.  There  were  three  sons,  Gulleik,  Ole, 
and  Knut;  by  the  right  of  primogeniture  the  estate 
would  fall  to  the  oldest  son,  Gulleik  Flom.  Ole  Flom 
had  selected  for  purchase  a  place  then  for  sale,  in 
Voss,  and  it  was  his  intention  to  remove  to  Voss. 
He  was,  however,  prevailed  upon  not  to  do  this  by 
his  father  who  told  him  he  would  give  him  half  of 
the  family  estate.  When,  however,  the  time  came, 
the  temptation  to  follow  the  general  practice  and  give 
the  estate  intact  over  to  the  oldest  son  became  too 
strong  for  the  father  and  he  gave  it  all  to  Gulleik 
Flom. 

Ole  T.  Flom  then  began  thinking  about  emi 
grating  to  America.  In  1843  he  went  to  Vik  Parish 
and  while  there  he  and  Anfin  J.  Seim  agreed  to  go 
to  America.  After  he  returned  to  Aurland  others  in 
the  parish  also  began  to  make  preparations  for  leav 
ing  for  the  New  World  and  the  fever  spread  to  Fres- 
vik  and  Systrond  and  up  as  far  as  Sogndal  Parish. 
In  the  spring  of  1844  a  considerable  number  from 
these  regions  and  from  Vik  stood  ready  to  emigrate. 
Ole  T.  Flom,  wife  Anna  and  sons  Ole  and  Anders, 
Ivar  H.  Vangen  and  Knut  Aaretuen  (i  Aureto), 


IMMIGRANTS  FROM  SOON  267 

wife  Anna  273  and  three  children  left  Aurlandsvan- 
gen  on  the  12th  of  April.  They  had  engaged  pas 
sage  on  Juno,  Captain  Bendixen,  but  were  obliged 
to  wait  in  Bergen  two  weeks  before  sailing.  In  the 
meantime  others  who  also  were  to  go  on  Juno  joined 
them  at  Bergen.  Among  them  were  the  Melaas  fam 
ilies  from  Norum  Annex  of  Sogndal  Parish;  they 
were  the  first  to  emigrate  from  that  district.  This 
party  was  composed  of  the  following  eleven  mem 
bers:  Mons  Lasseson  Melaas  (b.  1787)  and  wife 
Martha ;  Kristen  L.  Melaas,  wife  Aase  and  daughter 
Anna;  Johans  K.  Bjelde  and  wife  Kristi;  Ole  A. 
Slinde,  wife  Martha ; 274  and  two  children. 

The  following  persons  from  various  parts  of 
Sogn  also  embarked  on  Juno :  Anders  Engen,  Per 
L.  Gjerde,  Michel  J.  Engesaeter  and  wife  Synnove 
from  Systrand,  Ole  I.  Husebo  with  wife  Ingeleiv  and 
children,  and  Ole  A.  Vasrken  (Grinde)  from  Leikan- 
ger,  Nils  T.  Seim,  wife  Mari  and  children  (3)  and 
Thomas  T.  Seim  from  Laerdal,  and  the  aforemen 
tioned  Anfin  I.  Seim  from  Vik  with  his  wife  Britha 
and  five  children. 275  There  were  about  sixty  per 
sons  on  Juno  when  it  sailed  in  May.  At  the  same 

273  She  was  a  daughter  of  Ole  Schserdalen. 

274  A  daughter  of  Mons  Melaas.     Their  husbands  took  the  name 
Melaas  in  this  country. 

275  Relative  to  the  personnel  of   this  party  and  the  sailing  of 
Juno  I  am  especially  to  Kristi  Melaas,  with  whom  I  have  had  several 
interviews  on  the  question.     She  is  the  oldest  surviving  member  of 
the  party   and  is  still  living  at   Stoughton,   Wisconsin.     My   father, 
Ole  O.  Flom,  has  also  supplied  many  facts;   he  was  thirteen  years 
old  at  the  time  of  immigration. 


268  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

time  two  other  ships  sailed  from  Bergen  with  immi 
grants  for  America;  they  were  Kong  Sverre,  Cap 
tain  Vingaard  and  Albion,  Captain  Brock.  A  very 
large  number  of  those  who  embarked  on  these  ships 
also  were  from  Sogn,  especially  Vik,  nearly  all  these 
going  to  Long  Prairie  (see  next  chapter).  Among 
those  who  came  to  Koshkonong  were:  Torstein 
Thronson  Selseng  and  wife  Kari,  Knut  Gjerde,  Ole 
Selseng,  Jakob  I.  Gjerdene,  from  Sogndal,  Elling  0. 
Flatland,  wife  and  children,  and  Sjur  S.  Olman. 

Kong  Sverre  and  Albion  sailed  three  days  be 
fore  Juno,  but  arrived  in  New  York  several  weeks 
later.  Juno  made  the  journey  to  New  York  in  five 
weeks  and  three  days,  which,  says  Kristi  Melaas, 
broke  the  record  for  fast  sailing  at  that  time.  * '  The 
Brock  ship"  took  eight  weeks  for  the  journey,  while 
Kong  Sverre  was  on  the  ocean  twelve  weeks.  The 
party  that  came  with  Juno  was  therefore  the  first 
large  group  of  Sognings  to  land  in  America,  the 
date  of  their  landing  being  St.  John's  Eve.  From 
New  York  they  went  by  canal-boat  to  Buffalo,  where 
they  arrived  on  the  fourth  of  July.  Here  they  were 
put  on  board  an  old  steamboat,  which  the  immigrants 
feared  would  go  to  the  bottom  at  any  moment  of 
the  journey,  says  Mrs.  Melaas,  over  the  lakes  to 
Milwaukee,  where  they  arrived  at  the  end  of  July. 276 

276  Kristi  Melaas  called  the  boat  "ein  rota  "boot  sTciklce-leg." 
She  says  the  agent  who  had  charge  of  the  journey  to  Milwaukee  was 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Hohlfelt,  a  typical  immigrant  "runner/'  it 
seems,  whom  she  styles  as  ' '  ain  rigele  bedragar,  ain  stakkars  Mann 
va  han." 


IMMIGRANTS  FROM  SOGN  269 

Kristi  Melaas  says  the  agent  weighed  their  goods  at 
every  stopping  place  and  charged  toll  each  time. 
There  was  no  interpreter  on  the  boat  who  could 
voice  their  objections.  The  ticket  from  New  York 
to  Chicago  was  $14,  but  by  additional  charges  along 
the  route,  the  expense  of  the  inland  journey  was 
greater  than  that  from  Bergen  to  New  York.  In 
Milwaukee  most  of  the  party,  including  Ole  Vendelbo, 
Ole  T.  Fiona,  Knut  Aaretuen  and  Michel  Engesreter 
went  to  Koshkonong  via  Muskego,  but  the  Melaas 
family  went  to  Chicago,  as  did  Ole  Husebo  and  one 
man  from  Vik  who  had  intended  to  go  south  to  Mis 
souri,  227  and  they  were  all  met  in  Chicago  by  one 
who  was  to  bring  them  to  Missouri.  It  seems,  how 
ever,  that  the  departure  hither  was  delayed  for 
weeks  by  their  guide  who  was  addicted  to  drink.  In 
the  meantime  the  Melaas  families  becoming  discour 
aged  and  having  met  a  certain  Ole  Bringa  who  urged 
them  to  come  to  Koshkonong,  decided  to  go  where 
the  rest  of  the  party  had  already  directed  their 
course.  They  then  bought  two  yoke  of  oxen  and 
drove  to  Koshkonong,  stopping  in  Pleasant  Spring 
Township  about  two  miles  northeast  of  Lake  Kegon- 
sa. 

Soon  after  arriving  at  Koshkonong  they  were 
met  by  Ole  Trovatten  who  aided  them  in  the  selec 
tion  of  land  and  who  accompanied  Johans  and  Ole 
Melaas  to  Milwaukee  to  purchase  the  land  selected. 
The  two  brothers  bought  each  forty  acres  at  first  in 

277  Tliis  man  we  learn  was  Anfin  Seim   (see  next  chapter). 


270  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

section  three ;  later  Johans  bought  out  Ole  and  eighty 
acres  more  adjacent  to  the  acquired  forty.  Ole  A. 
Melaas  thereupon  located  on  section  thirty-five  in 
Cottage  Grove  Township,  a  mile  northeast  of  his 
brother's  property.  The  Melaas  families  all  located 
in  that  immediate  neighborhood.  Ole  T.  Flom 
bought  eighty  acres  in  Cottage  Grove  Township,  a 
mile  north  of  Door  Creek  where  also  Ole  Vendelbo 
Olson  settled,  purchasing  forty  acres.  Olson,  how 
ever,  sold  this  out  to  Ole  T.  Flom  not  long  after,  and 
moved  to  Minnesota.  Nile  Seim  also  located  near 
there,  while  Per  Gjerde  settled  in  section  two  in 
Pleasant  Spring,  near  the  Cottage  Grove  line.  Ole 
I.  Husebo  settled  in  Christiana  Township  and  Sjur 
Olman  settled  a  mile  north  of  Nora  Post-office.  Ivar 
Vangen  located  on  Bonnet  Prairie,  Michel  Engesseter 
lived  a  few  years  on  Koshkonong,  then  removed  to 
Norway  Grove.  Knut  Aaretuen  settled  in  Kosh 
konong,  but  went  west  (to  Minnesota)  after  some 
years.  Anfin  Seim,  who  was  from  Vik,  went  with  the 
Melaas  families  to  Chicago,  and  thence  to  Long 
Prairie,  Boone  County,  Illinois  (see  next  chapter). 
The  only  family  from  Vik  to  locate  in  Koshkonong 
that  year  was  that  of  Mons  Halringa,  who  settled  in 
Pleasant  Spring,  a  mile  or  so  southwest  of  Utica ;  the 
homestead  being  that  later  occupied  by  his  son 
Simon. 

The  immigration  to  Koshkonong  in  1844  was 
thus  principally  from  Sogn,  and  it  is  to  be  noted  that 
a  considerable  number  of  these  settled  in  the  north- 


IMMIGRANTS  FROM  SOGN  271 

ern  extremity  of  the  settlement,  north  of  Door  Creek 
and  Nora.  At  the  same  time  there  were  new  acces 
sions  from  other  districts,  especially  Voss  and  Laur- 
dal  in  Telemarken,  while  from  Rollaug  came  that 
year  Gisle  H.  Venaas  and  Anfin  A.  Haugerud. 
Among  those  who  came  from  Voss  I  shall  name  here 
the  brothers  Nils  and  Sjur  Droksvold,  Ole  Droks- 
vold,  Henrik  0.  Haeve,  Erik  V.  Eio  (Williams),  Erik 
S.  Fliseram,  and  Knut  E.  Eokne ;  all  these  had  fam 
ilies. 

Among  earlier  immigrants  from  Voss  who  locat 
ed  in  Dane  County  in  1844  were  Ole  and  Steffen  Gil- 
derhus;  the  former  had  immigrated  in  1839  while 
Steffen  came  in  1838.  As  has  been  observed  above, 
Lars  D.  Eekve,  who  came  to  America  in  1839,  did  not 
actually  settle  in  Koshkonong  until  1844.  Eokne 
and  Venaas  settled  in  Christiana,  the  former  three 
miles  west  of  Cambridge,  the  latter  two  miles  north 
west  of  Eockdale.  Most  of  the  Vossings,  however, 
located  in  Deerfield  Township,  south  and  west  of 
the  village  of  Deerfield.  We  shall  now  turn  to  the 
immigrants  who  came  from  Sogn  with  Kong  Sverre 
and  Albion  in  1844  and  did  not  settle  in  Wisconsin. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

Long  Prairie  in  Boone  County,  Illinois;  a  Sogning 
Settlement, 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  present  village  of  Capron, 
Illinois,  a  few  Norwegians  located  in  1843,  forming 
the  nucleus  of  what  later  came  to  be  known  as  Long 
Prairie.  This  settlement  is  located  only  a  few  miles 
south  of  Jefferson  Prairie  (which  extends  into  Illi 
nois)  and  is  about  sixty-five  miles  distant  west  from 
Chicago.  The  earliest  Norwegian  settlers  here  were 
Thor  Olson  Kaasa  and  Thov  Knutson  Traim,  his 
wife  Ingebjorg  and  sons,  Knut,  Kjetil,  and  Ole,  from 
Siljord  in  Upper  Telemarken.  Thor  Kaasa  was  the 
son  of  Ole  Kaasa  and  wife  Margit,  who  immigrated 
in  1843  with  a  family  of  nine  children,  of  whom  Thor 
was  the  oldest.  We  have  spoken  of  their  coming  on 
page  235.  Among  the  other  children  the  sons,  Gjer- 
mund,  Jens,  Jorgen,  and  Kittel,  and  daughters, 
Guro,  Aase,  Emelie  and  Kristense,  also  moved  to 
the  settlement  in  1845.  Both  Ole  Kaasa  and  his  wife 
died  of  cholera  in  1854;  Jorgen  Kaasa  settled  in 
Winneshiek  County  in  1852,  while  Thor  Kaasa 
moved  to  Filmore  County,  Minnesota;  Jens  located 
permanently  in  Chicago. 

In  1844  there  came  five  persons  from  Siljord, 
Norway,  namely  Bjorn  Brekketo  278  and  wife  Guro, 

278  Knut  Brekketo,  a  son  of  Bjorn  Brekketo,  is  living  at  Capron 
at  present. 


LONG  PRAIRIE,  ILLINOIS  273 

her  brothers  Jens  and  Steinar,  and  Johannes  Kleiva. 
Bjorn  Brekketo  died  early  and  the  widow  married 
Ole  Oreflaat.  Not  many  more  immigrants  from  Tel- 
emarken  located  at  Capron.  In  1844-45  natives  of 
Sogn  took  possession  of  Long  Prairie,  and  the  set 
tlement  has  ever  since  remained  preeminently  a 
Sogning  settlement. 

We  have  observed  above  that  of  those  who  came 
from  Sogn  on  the  ship  Juno  in  1844,  Anfin  Seim  and 
family  did  not  locate  in  Koshkonong,  but  went  to 
Boone  County,  Illinois;  they  were  the  only  ones  of 
Juno's  passengers  to  settle  in  Illinois.  On  the  other 
hand  a  considerable  number  of  those  who  came  on 
Kong  Sverre  and  Albion  located  at  Long  Prairie. 
Among  them  were  the  following  who  came  with  the 
Albion:  Ole  J.  Aavri,  wife  Britha  and  daughter 
Inga  and  sons  Johans  and  Andres. 279  Ivar  S.  Eis- 
lauv  and  wife  Eli,  a  daughter  of  Ole  Aavri;  Lars 
Johnson  Haave,  wife  Eandi,  daughter  Britha,  and 
two  sons  Joe  (John)  and  Ole;  Andrew  Olson  Stad- 
hem  (Staim),  wife  Sigrid,  two  sons  and  four  daugh 
ters,  Olina,  Britha,  Aase,  and  Inga ;  Ole  Stadhem  and 
family;  Ivar  I.  Haave,  wife  Barbro  and  sons  Inge- 
brigt  and  Elling ;  Endre  H.  Numedal  and  wife  Helga, 
daughter  of  Ivar  Haave;  Ole  Berdahl  and  family; 
Ingebrigt  N.  Vange,  wife  Britha,  and  three  daugh 
ters,  and  Ole  Vange. 

With  the  Sverre  came:  Anders  H.  Numedal  and 
wife  Aagot,  Ole  Tistele,  Ole  0.  Tenold  and  wife 

279  Andres  Aavri   soon   after  returned  to   Norway. 


274  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Sigri,  Ole  P.  Tenold,  Ole  J.  Orvedal,  wife  Bagnilda, 
and  three  daughters,  28°  Lars  0.  Folie,  Joe  Folie,  who 
died  of  cholera  in  Chicago,  Ivar  Folie,  Lars  Jensen 
Haave,  with  family  and  Ingebrigt  J.  Fuglegjasrdet, 
Besides  these  there  were  on  both  ships  a  number  of 
young  unmarried  men  and  women  whose  passage 
was  paid  for  by  Lars  Johnson  Haave  and  Joe  Folie, 
who  may  perhaps  be  regarded  as  the  leaders  of  this 
party.  Most  of  those  named  were  men  of  means, 
and  some  of  them  were  owners  of  valuable  estates 
which  were  of  course  sold  and  converted  into  cash 
upon  emigrating  to  America.  Albion  took  eight 
weeks  for  the  voyage.  Kong  Sverre  took  twelve. 
The  former  arrived  in  New  York  about  July  25th. 

From  New  York  they  took  the  usual  inland  route 
to  Chicago,  their  destination  being  Wiota.  But  at 
Belvidere  in  Boone  County,  they  met  Thor  Olson 
Kaasa,  who  advised  them  strongly  against  going  to 
Wiota,  which,  he  said,  was  two  hundred  miles  from 
a  market.  La  Fayette  County  was  moreover  noth 
ing  but  hills,  and  he  gave  such  an  unfavorable  des 
cription  of  that  locality,  that  the  immigrants  decided 
to  accept  his  suggestion  and  go  to  Long  Prairie, 
where  they  were  told  there  was  plenty  of  level  and 
fertile  land  only  seventy  miles  from  Chicago.  A  few 
were  deputed  to  wait  at  Belvidere  for  those  who 
were  coming  on  Kong  Sverre,  and  inform  them  of 
the  change  in  plans ;  the  rest  accompanied  Kaasa  to 

280  One  of  whom  married  Ole  Tenold ;  they  moved  to  Calmar, 
Iowa.  The  Orvedal  family  all  moved  to  Winneshiek  County  in  the 
fifties. 


LONG  PRAIRIE,  ILLINOIS  275 

Boone  County, 281  where  also  soon  after  the  second 
party  came.  Thus  by  the  autumn  of  1844  the  settle 
ment  numbered  about  one  hundred  individuals. 282 

In  the  year  1845  about  fifty  persons  settled 
near  Capron.  It  has  already  been  observed  that  the 
Kaasa  family  moved  out  there  that  year  from  Chi 
cago.  283  Others  came  directly  from  Sogn,  Norway, 
the  recruiting  region  being  Vik  Parish  exclusively. 
In  that  year  three  ships  left  Bergen  again  with  im 
migrants  principally  from  Sogn,  especially  Aurland 
and  Vik.  Those  who  came  from  Aurland  went  to 
Koshkonong,  as  also  many  of  those  who  came  from 
Vik.  One  of  these  ships  was  Albion,  Captain  Brock, 
the  passengers  of  which  went,  most  of  them,  to  Long 
Prairie. 

Relative  to  the  voyage  of  Albion,  Elim  Elling- 
son  of  Capron,  who  was  on  this  ship,  tells  me  the 
following  incident  which  occurred  in  mid-ocean. 

"One  day  a  boat  carrying  seven  or  eight  men,  rather 
ugly  in  appearance,  evidently  Spanish  pirates,  approached 
us  from  the  west,  and  their  leader  demanded  to  speak  with 
the  captain.  They  said  they  came  from  the  New  Found- 
land  coast  and  wanted  to  send  some  letters  back.  There 
upon  they  veered  about  and  rowed  back  to  their  ship 
which  lay  some  distance  to  the  west,  put  out  nine  boats 
with  a  large  number  of  men  and  rowed  back  toward  our 
ship.  The  captain,  suspecting  their  purpose  and  realizing 


281  Anfin  Seim,   who   had  come  on  Juno,   was  in   Chicago   when 
they  came  there;  he  joined  them  there  when  they  started  for  Wiota. 

282  Some  of  them  moved  away  a  few  years  later  as  had  already 
been  indicated  in  the  notes  on  the  preceding  pages. 

283  The  family  numbered  ten  persons. 


276  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

that  we  would  be  helpless  before  an  attack  of  pirates, 
turned  the  ship  around  and  sailed  back  for  one  whole  day 
and  night.  In  the  meantime  a  considerable  tumult  arose 
on  board,  axes  and  guns  being  gotten  in  readiness  and 
many  carried  up  stones  from  the  ballast.  "We  succeeded, 
however,  in  escaping,  and,  after  sailing  a  day  and  a  night, 
we  turned  back  and  arrived  safely  in  New  York.  Here 
we  learned  that  recently  a  ship  had  arrived  at  port,  the 
masts  of  which  had  been  entirely  destroyed  by  guns  from 
a  pirate  attack." 

Mr.  Ellingson  in  telling  this,  added  that  it  is 
doubtful  what  fate  might  have  awaited  them,  had  not 
the  captain  promptly  turned  the  ship  about  and  suc 
ceeded  in  escaping  what  most  certainly  would  have 
been  a  similar  attack. 

Among  those  who  came  on  that  ship  at  the  same 
time,  and  who  located  at  Capron,  were:  Johans 
Dahle  from  Voss,  his  wife,  Ingebjb'r,  and  son,  Ole ; 284 
Lasse  Ellingson  Aase  (b.  1808),  wife  Gjori  Eavsdal 
and  five  children,  Eagnild, 28S  Elling  (Elim),  (b. 
1835),  Nils,  Endre  and  Britha;  Andres  E.  Aase,  wife 
and  two  sons;286  Anders  0.  Torvold,  Johannes 
Lie  (now  living  in  Goodhue  County,  Minnesota),  and 
Johanna  Stadhem.  John  Benson  of  Capron  tells 
me  that  his  grandmother,  Martha  Numedal,  a  widow, 


284  A  son  Andres  Dahle  was  not  in  the  ship,  says  Elim  Ellingson, 
and  probably  did  not  come  therefore  until  the  next  year. 

285  Who  married  Sjur  6'lman,  who  also  came  in  1844  and  settled 
in  Cottage  Grove  Township,  Dane  County. 

286  Andres  Aase  and  family  soon  after  moved  to  Dane  County, 
Wisconsin,  and  settled  near  Cambridge;   they  finally  located  perma 
nently  in  Winneshiek  County,  Iowa. 


LONG  PRAIRIE,  ILLINOIS  277 

came  there  in  1845  or  1846,  and  also  the  following: 
Joe  Sande,  who  was  married  to  a  Miss  Aase,  Edlend 
Myrkeskog,  wife  Eli  and  daughter  Ingebjor, 287  and 
Ole  Myrkeskog,  who  is  living  at  Capron  yet  at  the 
age  of  eighty. 

The  Long  Prairie  Settlement  continued  to  grow 
for  a  decade.  Space  does  not,  however,  permit 
printing  here  the  complete  list  of  later  arrivals,  kind 
ly  supplied  me  by  Elim  Ellingson  and  John  Ben 
son.288  We  shall  now  speak  briefly  of  the  growth 
of  the  old  settlement  of  Muskego. 


287  Edlend    Myrkeskog    died   about    1850,    and   the   widow    later 
moved  to  Iowa. 

288  Mr.  Benson  came  there  in  1851. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

The  Growth  of  the  Racine  County  (Muskego)  Settle 
ment,  1843-1847.    Personal  Notes. 

In  Chapter  XV  we  discussed  briefly  immigration 
to  Eacine  County  in  1841-1842.  The  period  of  larg 
est  growth  of  the  settlement  was  between  1842  and 
1847 ;  an  especially  large  party  came  in  1843.  After 
1847  the  arrivals  that  became  permanent  residents 
were  few  and  scattered.  In  the  early  fall  of  1842 
there  arrived  at  one  time  a  party  of  forty  persons. 
They  had  embarked  at  Langesund  about  May  30th, 
were  over  eleven  weeks  on  the  ocean,  arriving  in 
New  York  August  16th.  Here  they  met  Elling  Eiel- 
son,  who  accompanied  them  to  Albany;  three  weeks 
later  they  landed  in  Milwaukee.  Among  others 
there  were  the  following  persons:  Hermo  Nilsen 
Tufte  and  family  from  Aal  in  Hallingdal,  Johan 
Landsverk  and  family  from  Tuddal,  Telemarken, 
Sondre  N.  Maaren  and  wife  and  his  brothers  Ostein 
and  Nils  from  Tin,  Osten  G.  Meland  also  from  Tin, 
Tostein  E.  Cleven  and  Aanund  Bjaan  (Bjoin)  and 
family  who  were  the  first  to  emigrate  from  Siljord. 
Of  these  several  remained  only  temporarily;  thus 
Anders  Dahlen  went  to  Winnebago  County,  Wiscon 
sin,  about  1848,  in  company  with  Ole  Myhre,  an  immi 
grant  of  the  year  1843.  Kjittel  Busness,  who  was  a 
brother  to  the  said  Ole  Myhre 's  wife,  also  remained 


RACINE  COUNTY  SETTLEMENT  279 

in  Eacine  County  only  a  few  years,  then  he  went  to 
Stoughton,  Dane  County. 

Sondre  Maaren  settled  on  section  34,  Town  of 
Norway,  where  he  and  his  wife  lived  in  a  dug-out 
for  a  time;  later,  selling  out  to  a  Mr.  Sawyer,  they 
moved  to  Jefferson  Prairie  and  ultimately  to  Cresco, 
Iowa.  Aanund  Bjoin  died  in  1847 ;  the  son  Halvor, 
then  eighteen  years  old,  walked  to  Koshkonong  with 
the  view  of  selecting  land  and  settling  there,  and  the 
rest  of  the  family  moved  there  that  same  year. 
Johan  Landsverk,  who  was  a  brother  of  Ole  Lands- 
verk,  an  immigrant  of  1838,  settled  on  Yorkville 
Prairie  and  remained  there  till  1854,  when  he  moved 
to  Sande  in  Chickasaw  County,  Iowa,  where  he  lived 
till  his  death.  A  son,  Peder  J.  Landsverk,  born 
1840,  occupied  the  homestead  later ;  he  died  in  Janu 
ary,  1908.  Hermo  Nilson  Tufte  and  family  located 
on  section  31  in  Raymond  Township ;  here  he  lived 
till  his  death. 

As  has  been  said,  Tufte  came  from  Aal  Parish, 
Hallingdal,  and  was  not  only  the  first  emigrant  to 
America  from  Aal,  but  it  seems,  also  the  first  from 
the  Valley  of  Hallingdal.  The  Tufte  farm  lay  in 
the  extreme  north  of  the  valley  close  up  under  the 
mountains ;  the  region  is  extremely  cold,  much  of  it 
covered  by  snow  the  whole  year  round.  The  family 
was  extremely  poor;  of  a  pious  nature  and  fervid 
adherents  of  Hans  Nilsen  Hauge.  Besides  the 
father  and  mother  there  was  a  son,  Nils,  and  a 
daughter,  Sigrid.  The  latter,  in  whom  the  piety  of 


280  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

the  mother  had  found  strong  expression,  was  attract 
ed  to  the  young  lay  preacher,  Eielson,  and  in  July 
the  next  year  became  his  wife.  The  son,  Nils,  mar 
ried  in  1865  a  daughter  of  Ole  Sanderson  in  Perry 
Township,  Dane  County,  and  lived  on  the  old  home 
stead  until  he  died  about  1901.  The  daughter,  Julia, 
married  Thomas  Adland  of  North  Cape,  Kacine 
County,  and  another  daughter,  Betsey,  married  0.  B. 
Dahle  of  Perry,  Dane  County.  Hermo  Nilson  and 
his  wife  both  died  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixties. 

Three  different  parties  of  immigrants,  nearly 
all  from  Telemarken,  came  to  Eacine  County  in  1843. 
One,  the  so-called  Wigeland  party,  left  Skien  early 
in  the  spring  by  ship  commanded  by  Captain  Bloom, 
sailing  to  Havre,  France.  The  second  party,  going 
about  the  same  time,  sailed  out  from  Skien  by  the 
Olius,  Captain  Bjornson,  also  going  to  Havre.  Of 
the  third  party  we  shall  speak  below. 

At  Havre  those  in  the  first  party  seem  to  have 
engaged  passage  on  an  American  ship  Argo,  a  five- 
masted  sailing  vessel  loaded  with  Swedish  iron  bound 
for  New  York.  While  Olius  was  laid  up  for  repairs, 
the  American  captain  began  cutting  prices,  offering 
at  last  to  take  the  new  arrivals  to  New  York  for  nine 
five-franc  pieces  each  (or  about  $8).  Many  did  not 
dare  to  take  passage  on  the  Argo,  fearing  that  some 
trick  was  being  played  on  them,  but  most  of  them 
went.  Ar go  proved  a  good  sailer,  reaching  New 
York  four  weeks  ahead  of  Olius.  There  were,  how 
ever,  long  delays  in  New  York  and  Buffalo,  so  that 


RACINE  COUNTY  SETTLEMENT  281 

the  immigrants  did  not  reach  Milwaukee  before  Aug 
ust  15th.  Among  those  who  came  on  the  Argo  were : 
Arentz  "Wigeland  and  wife  Gunild,  his  aged  father 
Andrew  Wigeland,  and  his  brothers  George  and 
Andrew,  and  two  sisters ;  Halvor  Pederson  Haugholt, 
with  wife  Tone  and  four  sons  and  two  daughters, 
Gunild  and  Ingeborg ;  Ole  Overson  Haukom  and  fam 
ily,  eleven  in  all ;  Anders  Jacobson  Ronningen,  wife 
Ivjersti  and  three  sons ; 289  Jens  Hundkjilen  and 
Anders  Smekaasa;  Amund  S.  Sotholt,  his  brother, 
Soren  S.  Sotholt,  Sven  S.  Klomset;  Lars  Tinder- 
holt;  Nils  H.  Narum,  Halvor  Nisson,  John  Maaren, 
Nils  Rue,  John  Kossin,  John  Husevold,  all  with  fam 
ilies  ;  Osten  Ingusland,  John  Husevold,  Hans  Tveito, 
Svein  Nordgaarden,  Gjermon  T.  Nordgaarden,  Ma- 
thias  H.  Kroken,  wife  and  children,  his  wife's  sister 
Anne  and  their  mother  Sissel;  Ole  0.  Storlie,  with 
wife,  29°  four  sons  and  two  daughters ;  Kjittil  Hau- 
gan  and  family ;  Gunuld  K.  Maaren,  Gro  Grave  and 
her  mother;  Halvor  I.  Doksrud,  wife  and  two  sons, 
Halvor  and  Ingebret.  All  these,  about  one  hundred 
in  all,  were  from  different  parts  of  Telemarken.  Be 
sides  there  were  sixteen  persons  from  Saetersdalen 
as  follows:  Tollef  Gunnufson  Huset,  wife  Haege 
Olson  and  six  children  from  Bygland,  Augun  Berge 
and  wife  from  Vallo,  Kjogei  Harstad  from  Vallo, 

289  One  of  whom,  Jacob,  now  lives  in  Racine. 

290  It  was  Mrs.  Ole  Storlie,  who  was  accidentally  shot  by  Sb'ren 
Bakke,  which  unfortunate  event  seems  to  have  been  the  chief  cause 
why  Bakke,  almost  crazed  with  grief,  gave  up  pioneer  life  and  re 
turned  to  Norway. 


282  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Tollef  Knudson  and  wife  and  three  children  from 
Holestad  Parish,  and  Tolleif  Boisland  and  Ole  Num- 
meland  from  Vallo,  the  first  emigrants  from  Saeters- 
dalen  to  America.  All  but  the  last  two  of  these  went 
to  Muskego. 291 

Arentz  Wigeland,  born  1812,  who  may  be  regard 
ed  as  the  leader,  had  sailed  for  seven  years  between 
Boston  and  the  West  Indies  and  along  the  American 
Atlantic  coast.  Passing  the  winters  in  Boston  he 
had  learned  the  English  language,  and  in  1842  re 
turned  to  his  home  in  Bamle,  Norway,  to  bring  his 
family  to  America.  He  became  the  chief  promoter 
of  the  considerable  immigration  from  Lower  Tele- 
marken  that  year.  Wigeland  settled  in  Yorkville 
Township.  In  1844  he  married  Gunild  Pederson ;  he 
died  in  1862.  The  daughter  Maren  (b.  1845)  mar 
ried  John  W.  Johnson  in  1865.  Mrs.  Wigeland  died 
in  Eacine  in  1897.  Haugholt  (b.  1799)  was  from 
Saude  Parish  in  Lower  Telemarken.  He  settled  on 
section  18  in  the  Town  of  Raymond ;  there  he  died  in 
1882,  his  wife 292  died  in  1876,  aged  79  years.  Their 
oldest  son  Ole,  who  was  drowned  in  the  fifties  in  the 
Norway  marshes,  was  the  first  person  buried  in  the 
Yorkville  Cemetery. 

Nels  Narum  was  from  Stathelle  in  Bamle  Par 
ish;  he  settled  in  Norway  Township  on  section  20. 
Both  he  and  his  wife  died  in  1887,  about  eighty-seven 
years  old.  Hans  Tveito  (Twito)  settled  in  the  part 

291  Eoisland  and  Vigeland  settled  at  Pine  Lake. 

292  She  was  Gunild  Wigeland ;  they  were  married  in  1844. 


RACINE  COUNTY  SETTLEMENT  283 

of  the  settlement  that  lay  in  Waukesha  County;  he 
moved  to  Houston  County,  Minnesota,  in  1855  and  in 
1866  to  Filmore  County;  Halvor  Nissen  who  was 
from  Bamle,  also  settled  in  Waukesha  County.  Ole 
Overson  was  from  Hviteseid  Parish;  when  they 
came  to  Norway  they  lived  for  some  time  with  John 
Dale  (who  had  come  from  Norway  in  1837  with  Mons 
K.  Aadland  and  Ole  Rynning).  In  1845  he  preempt 
ed  land  in  section  34,  where  his  son  Frank  Overson 
lived  until  quite  recently. 

Our  third  party  of  emigrants  were  from  Upper 
Telemarken,  mostly  from  Siljord  Parish.  They 
came  on  the  ship  Vinterflid. 293  Among  those  in  the 
party  were:  Knud  S.  Kvistrud  and  Kari  Berge 
from  Tin,  Egil  0.  Cleven  and  family,  and  a  cousin 
Knut  Haugan,  wife  and  two  daughters  from  Lange- 
lev;  Bjorn  Stondal,  Ole  0.  Hedejord  294  and  wife  Liv, 
three  daughters,  Esther,  Ida  and  Etta,  and  two  sons, 
Ole  and  Edward ;  Torbjorn  G.  Vik  and  family,  who 
later  moved  to  Koshkonong;  Aanund  Drotning  who 
also  went  to  Koshkonng  that  same  year ; 29S  Aase 


293  Many  of  the  facts  relative  to  this  party  were  gathered  on  a 
visit  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Ingeborg  Koswall,  Whitewater,  Wisconsin, 
August  12,  1908;  Mrs.  Roswall  does  not  remember  the  name  of  the 
Captain  of  the  ship. 

294  Ole  Hedejord  died  on  Koshkonong;   Liv  is  still  living,  with 
her  grandchildren  on  the  old  homestead,  near  Waterford,  in  the  Town 
of  Yorkville. 

295  Edwin  Drotning  of  Stoughton  tells  me  that  his  father  Anon 
remained  a  while  in  Milwaukee  before  going  to  Koshkonong,  where 
he  located,  as  we  know  in  1844. 


284  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

and  Ingeborg  Olson296  from  Mandal,  Telemarken. 
John  Homme  from  Siljord,  father  of  Eeverend  G. 
Homme,  founder  of  the  Indian  School  at  Wittenberg, 
Wisconsin,  also  came  at  the  same  time,  as  also  Ole 
Myren  and  wife  Bergit,  and  Torgrim  Busness  and 
wife  Anne  from  Tin,  who  moved  to  Springfield 
Township,  Winneshiek  County,  Iowa,  in  1851. 

That  year  also  Ole  Heg,  son  of  Even  Heg  and  a 
brother  of  Colonel  Hans  C.  Heg, 297  came  and  settled 
in  Eacine  County,  as  also  Knud  Langeland  from 
Samnanger,  who  in  1866  became  the  first  editor  of 
Skandinaven  founded  that  year  by  John  Anderson 
in  Chicago.  Knud  Langeland  lived  at  first  in  Muske- 
go,  later  at  North  Cape,  Kacine  County.  In  1849  he 
married  Anna  Hatlestad  (born  in  Skjold  Parish, 
Eyfylke,  in  1830),  whose  parents  Jens  0.  Hatlestad 
and  wife  Anne  had  immigrated  in  1846,  and  settled 
in  the  Town  of  Norway.  Knud  Langeland  was  also 
the  first  editor  of  AmeriJca,  which  began  publication 
in  Chicago  in  1884.  During  the  last  years  of  his  life 
Langeland  lived  in  North  Cape  and  in  Milwaukee, 
where  he  died  in  1888 ;  his  wife  died  in  1908,  at  the 


296  These  two  sisters  married  Tostein  and  Gulleik  Cleven  in  1844. 
Tostein  and  Aase  Cleven  lived  in  Yorkville  till  1866,  when  they  moved 
to  Pleasant  Spring,  Dane  County,  Wisconsin.     Tostein  died  in  1893, 
Aase  in   1905,   leaving  four   daughters   and   three  sons:    Mrs.    Astri 
Drotning,   Mrs.   Ed.    Drotning,    both  of   Stoughton,   Wisconsin,    Mrs. 
Anna  Howe,  Mrs.  Edwin  Bjoin,  Kice  Lake,  Wisconsin,  Ed.,  Thomas, 
and  Henry.     Thomas  Cleven  occupies  the  farm. 

297  Ole  Heg  is  still  living  in  Burlington,  Racine  County,  Wiscon 
sin. 


RACINE  COUNTY  SETTLEMENT  285 

home  of  her  son,  Dr.  Peter  Langeland  with  whom 
she  had  lived  since  her  husband's  death. 298 

There  came  three  persons  from  Voss  to  Racine 
County  in  1843,  namely,  Knut  S.  Skjerve  (b.  1808), 
and  wife  Kari,  and  his  unmarried  sister,  Brita  Sel- 
heim.  Skjerve  located  in  Norway,  Racine  County, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Nils  Johnson.  In  1847 
Skjerve  sold  his  land  to  Knut  K.  Aaretuen  from 
Sogn  and  went  to  Jefferson  Prairie,  Boone  County, 
Illinois,  where  he  bought  a  farm  and  lived  till  his 
death  in  1892 ;  his  wife  died  there  in  1873. 

During  1844-1846  the  increase  in  immigration 
was  constant,  though  not  large.  In  1847  there  ar 
rived  a  considerable  number.  The  scattered  acces 
sions  of  these  years  represent  as  widely  removed 
parishes  as  Skien,  Lrcrdal  in  Sogn,  and  Namsos  in 
Trondhjem.  The  following  is  a  partial  list:  1844, 
John  Larson  and  Peter  Jacobson  and  family  from 
Stathelle,  Bamle,  Johannes  J.  Quala  from  near  Sta- 
vanger ;  Thonnod  S.  Flattre  with  wife  Ingeborg  (Ly- 
dahl)  2"  and  children  from  Voss,  who  settled  in  Nor 
way  Township,  Halvor  0.  Skare  and  wife  Margrete 
and  two  children  from  Lower  Telemarken,  who  lo 
cated  in  Norway  Township  in  1845 ;  30°  John  I.  Berge 
and  wife  Julia,  and  Hans  H.  Bakke  and  wife  Inge- 


298  The  other  children  are  James,  Charles,  and  Frank  Langeland, 
and  Mrs.  Harry  Brimble  of  Chicago,  and  Leroy  Langeland,  who  is 
news  editor  of  the  Evening  Wisconsin,  Milwaukee. 

299  Thomas  F.  Thompson,  who  died  in  Leland,  Illinois,  in  1908, 
was  their  son. 

300  He  moved  to  Winchester,  Wisconsin,  in  1854. 


286  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

borg,  who  moved  to  Spring  Grove  in  1854,  and  Peder 
Torgerson  and  wife  Anne  and  five  children  from 
Kragero.301  In  1846:  Jens  0.  Hatlestad  and  wife 
(see  above  page  284)  parents  of  Eev.  0.  J.  Hatlestad, 
pioneer  publisher,  minister,  and  author  of  Hist  or  i- 
ske  Middelelser  om  den  norske  August  ana-Sy  node, 
Decorah,  Iowa,  1877;  Elling  Spillom,  wife  Maren 
and  three  sons,  Ole,  Hendrik,  and  Mikkel  and  one 
daughter ;  Ole  Homstad  and  Mathias  Homstad,  both 
with  families,  from  Namsos  in  Trondhjem  Diocese;302 
they  settled  in  Eaymond  Township;  Halvor  and 
Ingebret  Eoswald 303  from  Gjerpen.  Knudt  K. 
Hedle,  wife  and  sons  Mathias,  Peter,  and  daugh 
ter  Betsy  from  Laerdal,  Sogn;  Tyke  Hendrikson 
Lokken  and  wife  Anne  from  Gjerpen,  who  bought 
the  Aslak  Aas  farm  in  Norway  Township;  they 
had  four  children,  Hans,  Ole,  Peter  and  Maria.304 
In  1847:  Peter  M.  Andsion  from  Namsos,  with 


301  Torgerson  removed  to  Wheeler  Prairie,  Dane  County,  in  1846. 
One  of  the  children  Anne  Tomine,  married  Ole  C.  Erikson  in  1854  and 
they  moved  to  Lake  Mills,  Jefferson  County.     In  the  spring  of  1867 
they  moved  to  Stoughton,  Wisconsin,  where  Erikson  was  one  of  the 
first  promoters  of  the  Stoughton  Wagon  Company.     Mrs.  Erikson  is 
still  living  in  Stoughton. 

302  They  were  the  first  families  to  emigrate  from  Trondhjem. 

303  Ingebret  Roswald  married  Ingeborg  Cleven  in  1854,  and  they 
then  settled  in  Dodge  County.     The  widow  is  now  living  in  White 
water,   Wisconsin. 

304  Hans  died  in   1856,  Ole  died  in  Milwaukee  in  1901.     Peter 
Hendrikson  graduated  from  Beloit  College,  held  a  chair  in  Modern 
Languages  there  for  about  ten  years,  was  later  editor  of  Skandinaven 
and  Principal  of  Albion  Academy,  Albion,   Wisconsin.     Is  now  en 
gaged  in  farming  in  the  State  of  Maine. 


RACINE  COUNTY  SETTLEMENT  287 

wife  and  four  children  (three  daughters  and  a  son) ; 
they  settled  in  Norway  Township. 

In  this  year  Captain  Hans  Friis  from  Farsund, 
Agder,  Norway,  settled  in  Muskego.  Friis  was  a 
sailor  with  Enigheden  in  1837  (see  above  page  96), 
and  between  1837  and  1847  had  made  nine  journeys 
to  America.  After  settling  in  Muskego  he  contin 
ued  for  many  years  sailing  on  the  Great  Lakes.  In 
1848  the  following  came  to  Muskego:  George  J. 
Bjorgaas  from  Houg,  Voss, 30S  Tollef  0.  Oien  from 
Tonset,  Osterdalen  (removed  to  Kewanee  County  in 
1855),  and  J.  H.  Skarie,  from  Hadeland,  who  locat 
ed  in  Town  of  Norway.  This  year  also  brought  to 
Muskego  the  pioneer  minister  Hans  Andreas  Stub 
(b.  1822),  who  had  that  spring  received  and  accept 
ed  the  call  to  the  Muskego  church.  Knut  and  Anna 
Aaretuen  from  Aurland,  Sogn,  also  appear  among 
the  number;  they  bought  the  farm  of  Knut  S. 
Skjerve  in  Norway  Township.  In  1854  they  moved 
to  Winneshiek  County,  Iowa,  and  about  1860  to  Gil- 
more  County,  Minnesota.  John  T.  and  Christoffer 
Olson  from  Eomskogen  in  Rodenaes,  Halvor  "Mo- 
dum"  from  Modum,  Norway,  and  Guro  Wait  and  son 
Eeuben  from  Osterdalen,  Norway,  all  came  in  1848. 

This  brief  outline  of  the  growth  of  the  settle 
ment  represents  fairly  completely  the  increase  by 
immigration  from  Norway  between  1842  and  1850. 
The  wave  of  migration  had  long  ago  moved  west- 

305  His  parents  with  family  of  ten  came  in  1849.     George  Bjor 
gaas  moved  to  Adams  County,  in  1849,  where  he  has  lived  since. 


288  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

ward ;  it  had  already  gone  beyond  Koshkonong  also. 
It  was  northern  and  western  Dane  County  and 
southern  Columbia  County  that  were  now  the  Mecca 
of  immigrants.  In  the  meantime  some  small  settle 
ments  in  Walworth  and  Jefferson  Counties  had  al 
ready  been  founded.  We  shall,  therefore,  briefly 
discuss  these  now. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

The  Heart  Prairie  Settlement  in  Walworth  County, 
Wisconsin.     Skoponong.     Pine  Lake. 

"Walworth  County  forms  one  of  the  southern 
tier  of  counties  in  Wisconsin,  being  situated  between 
Eock  on  the  west  and  Kenosha  and  Racine  on  the 
east ;  to  the  north  lies  Jefferson  County.  There  are 
four  Norwegian  settlements  in  the  county,  as  fol 
lows  :  (1)  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Town  of  White 
water  and  the  northern  part  of  the  Town  of  Rich 
mond  lies  the  Heart  Prairie  Settlement,  taking  its 
name  from  the  beautiful  little  prairie  directly  east 
of  it;  (2)  about  four  miles  east  of  the  city  of  White 
water  lies  Skoponong,  partly  in  Whitewater  Town 
ship  and  extending  north  into  Jefferson  County  as 
far  as  Palmyra;  (3)  in  the  city  of  Whitewater  there 
is  a  considerable  Norwegian  colony,  and  (4)  about 
six  miles  southeast  of  Heart  Prairie  lies  the  Sugar 
Creek  Settlement,  extending  from  about  five  miles 
north  of  Delavan  to  about  three  miles  northeast  of 
Elk  Horn,  the  county  seat  of  Walworth  County.  It 
is  the  first  of  these  settlements  that  we  shall  discuss 
in  this  chapter. 

The  first  Norwegian  settlers  at  Heart  Prairie 
were  Ole  A.  Sogal  and  wife  Kari,  who,  with  their 
four  children  Anne,  Andrea,  Karen,  and  Johanne, 
came  in  1842  and  located  four  miles  and  a  half 


290  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

southeast  of  the  city  of  Whitewater.  They  lived 
there  only  a  few  years,  however,  then  moved  to  Wau- 
toma,  Waushara  County,  in  Central  Wisconsin.  The 
next  settler  was  Ole's  brother,  Hans  A.  Mil  ebon,  who 
with  his  wife  Kari  came  in  1843,  and  settled  about 
a  mile  north  of  his  brother's  place;  they  had  one 
daughter,  Mary  Ann,  who  was  about  three  years  old 
when  they  came,  and  who  is  still  living  near  White 
water. 

During  the  year  1844  a  number  of  families  ar 
rived  from  Norway  and  settled  at  Heart  Prairie. 
They  were  as  follows :  Hans  Arveson  Vale  and  wife 
Aaste  (Esther),  with  children  Arve  (or  Harvey)  and 
Isak.  Mr.  Arveson  bought  his  first  eighty  acres  at 
government  price  of  $1.25  per  acre,  and  built  his  log 
house  in  the  fall  of  1844.  In  this  log  cabin  many  a 
Norwegian  immigrant  found  a  temporary  home  upon 
his  first  arrival  in  Wisconsin  in  the  early  days  of 
the  settlement.  Here  Mr.  Arveson  lived,  cultivating 
his  own  farm,  until  his  death  in  1873  at  the  age  of 
sixty-one ;  the  widow  died  in  June,  1900,  at  the  age 
of  eighty-six.  Hans  Thompson  and  wife  Marie  also 
came  in  1844;  they  had  three  children,  Thomas, 
Karen  and  Ann.  He  bought  land  adjoining  Arve 
son  's  farm,  lived  the  first  winter  in  a  dug-out.  But 
the  next  spring  "when  the  snakes  began  to  come 
in,"  writes  my  informant,  they  moved  to  the  Arve 
son  's  where  they  lived  till  they  got  their  log-house 
built. 

Andres  J.  Skipnes  and  his  wife  Aaste  also  came 
at  the  time ;  they  settled  near  Ole  Arveson,  but  lived 


HEART  PRAIRIE  SETTLEMENT  291 

there  only  a  short  time,  then  moved  to  a  farm  near 
Stoughton,  Wisconsin.  Ole  J.  Vale  and  wife  Anne 
likewise  came  in  the  same  party,  but  they  went  to 
Sugar  Creek,  where  a  son,  John,  and  a  daughter, 
Annie  Torine,  had  located  the  year  before.306  An 
other  arrival  at  this  time  was  Peder  H.  Swerge,  and 
Ole  Tolvson  Gronsteen  and  wife  Kari  and  three  chil 
dren,  Tosten  Olson,  a  carpenter,  and  wife  Aaste. 
Karine,  a  daughter  of  Halvor  Anderson,  came  in 
1844.  Tosten  built  most  of  the  log-cabins  that  were 
erected  in  the  settlement  for  a  number  of  years.  His 
wife  died  soon  after  coming  to  America,  and  Tosten 
died  in  the  Civil  War.  Finally  the  accessions  of  1844 
included  also  the  following  persons :  Gunder  H. 
Lunde,  Anne  Kosa,  Ole  0.  Huset  and  family,  John  C. 
Opsal,  and  Halvor  Huset.  The  latter  two  remained 
only  a  short  time,  then  went  west;  Ole  0.  Huset 
located  on  Koshkonong.307 

All  the  above  thirty-one  persons  who  emigrated 
in  1844  were  from  the  vicinity  of  Skien  in  Holden, 
and  all  came  on  the  same  ship,  namely,  Salvator, 
Captain  Johan  Gasman.  They  were  nine  weeks  on 

306  The  rest  of  their  children  who  came  with  them  were  Aaste,  a 
widow,  Andrea,  Anders,  and  Anne  Christine. 

Thomas  Thompson  married  Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  Christen 
Mason.  They  lived  on  the  Thompson  homestead  till  their  death ; 
Thomas  died  in  1869,  his  wife  in  1871.  They  had  six  children,  of 
whom  Hans,  the  oldest,  lives  at  Forest  City,  Iowa.  Karen  Thompson, 
oldest  daughter  of  Hans  Thompson,  married  Jens  Skipnes  (better 
known  as  John  A.  Johnson  of  the  firm,  Fuller  and  Johnson,  Madison, 
Wisconsin),  and  with  him  lived  near  Stoughton,  Wisconsin,  where 
she  died  about  four  years  after  their  marriage. 

307  See  Koshkonong  Church  Register,  page  324  r.elow. 


292  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

the  ocean,  landing  in  New  York  July  4th ;  they  came 
by  the  regular  route  to  Milwaukee,  thence  they  drove 
in  lumber  wagons  to  Heart  Prairie. 

For  the  year  1845  the  following  accessions  are 
to  be  noted:  The  brothers  Nils  and  Gunder  C.  Op- 
sal  ;  Halvor  A.  Lunde  and  wife  Ann  and  six  children, 
most  of  them  grown  up,  and  another  son  Gulleik  and 
wife  Dorothea;  Anders  J.  Bjorndokken;  Johans 
Gronsteen  with  wife  Maria  and  three  children.  For 
1846  we  note  the  following :  Anders  Gunderson,  John 
Arveson  and  wife  Kjersti  and  four  children ; 308 
Lukas  Ingebretson;  Anders  G.  Bjerva,  wife  Anne 
and  four  children : 309  Anne,  Borte  Maria,  Karen,  and 
Jens,  who  many  years  ago  moved  to  Crookston,  Min 
nesota;  and  John  Gronsteen  and  wife  Asberg.  All 
those  who  came  during  the  years  1845-46  were  from 
near  Skien. 

In  1847  Christen  M.  Bo,  wife  Inger  and  four 
children  from  Gjerpen  came  to  Heart  Prairie ;  and  in 
1848  came  Ole  Nilsen  from  Christiansand. 

In  either  1848  or  1849  came  Nils,  Steen  and  Ole 
Haatvedt ;  Nils  moved  to  Wautoma,  and  Ole  settled 
in  Waupaca  after  living  a  few  years  at  Heart 
Prairie.  In  1850  Hans  Hanson,  a  blacksmith,  came 
from  Holdon  and  located  there;  he  worked  for  a 
time  with  the  George  Esterly  Harvesting  Machine 

308  The  mother  and  one  child  died  that  same  fall. 

309  She  was  a  widow  when  he  married  her.     The  children  of  the 
second  marriage  were:     Gunder,  Christen  (Whitewater),  Esther  (who 
was  Mrs.  Chas.  Sobye,  Stoughton,  Wisconsin,  but  now  dead).     Anders 
Bjerva  and  wife  died  many  years  ago. 


HEART  PRAIRIE  SETTLEMENT  293 

Co.,  then  bought  a  farm,  which  he  occupied  till  his 
death  in  1893.  Another  blacksmith  by  the  name  of 
Glaus  Hanson  came  at  the  same  time ;  worked  at  his 
trade  for  a  while  in  Whitewater  then  went  to  Mich 
igan,  married  and  came  back  and  settled  in  Milwau 
kee,  where  he  is  still  living.  In  1851  Arve  Gunder- 
son  Vale  emigrated;  his  son  Hans  Vale  had  come  in 
1844;  Arve  Vale  lived  only  a  week  after  arriving. 
With  him  came  Gunder  H.  Vala  and  wife  Kersti 
and  seven  children ;  they  moved  to  Vermillion,  South 
Dakota,  a  few  years  later,  all  except  the  oldest  son 
Halvor,  who  is  living  at  Eio,  Wisconsin.  In  that 
year  (1851)  came  also  Christopher  Steenson  Haa- 
tvedt  and  his  two  brothers-in-law,  Peter  Kystelson 
Haatvedt  and  Christen  J.  Tveit,  while  in  1852  came 
Jorgen  A.  Nilson  Vibito  and  wife  Karen  Krigtine, 
nee  Hanson,  and  six  children.  Jorgen  Nilson  had 
taught  parochial  school  in  Norway  for  twenty-nine 
years  and  continued  to  do  so  here  for  many  years. 

The  above  is  a  complete  account  of  all  arrivals 
to  the  settlement  from  Norway  down  to  the  year 
1852;  the  roster  of  settlers  here  given  has  been 
patiently  gathered  during  several  months  of  re 
search  by  Mr.  Harvey  Arveson  31°  of  Whitewater, 
himself  the  oldest  son  of  the  third  settler  in  the  com 
munity,  namely  Hans  Arveson  Vale,  of  whom  we 

3101  acknowledge  here  with  gratitude  Mr.  Arveson 's  valuable 
aid.  It  is  only  through  such  intelligent  interest  and  patient  effort 
on  the  part  of  the  sons  of  the  pioneers  themselves,  who  have  con 
tinued  to  live  in  the  community,  that  such  reliable  facts  can  be 
secured. 


294  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

have  spoken  above.  I  have  followed  his  manuscript 
closely,  omitting  only  certain  facts  of  family  and 
personal  history.  Mr.  Arveson  speaks  briefly  of  the 
trying  summer  and  fall  of  1846  when  for  a  time  sick 
ness  and  death  seemed  to  threaten  to  exterminate 
the  settlers  of  Heart  Prairie.  I  will  quote  from  his 
own  account  of  the  condition;  speaking  of  John 
Gronsteen,  who  came  in  1846  and  died  that  same  fall, 
he  continues: 

There  was  so  much  sickness  here  at  that  time  that 
there  was  hardly  any  one  well  enough  to  bury  those  that 
died;  and  well  can  I  remember  that  the  men  had  to  come 
down  to  our  house  and  rest  before  they  could  finish  the 
grave,  and  well  can  I  remember  that  the  cow  stood  outside 
bellowing  to  be  milked  and  no  one  able  to  milk  her ;  every 
body  was  thirsty  as  all  had  fever  and  ague  and  had  to  go  a 
mile  for  water  before  we  got  to  the  well,  and  sometimes 
no  one  able  to  go  after  it.  I  am  sure  a  great  many  died 
for  want  of  care,  as  there  was  none  that  understood  the 
English  language  and  did  not  understand  how  to  take  their 
medicine.  Those  were  hard  times,  and  to  many  this  ac 
count  may  sound  incredible;  nevertheless,  it  is  true  and 
I  could  write  volumes  and  tell  true  incidents  of  the  trials 
and  hardships  that  the  old  pioneers  had  to  endure. 

Whitewater  city  received  no  Norwegian  settlers 
until  in  the  fifties,  therefore  an  account  of  their 
coming  falls  outside  the  scope  of  our  discussion. 
Of  the  old  Skoponong  Settlement  I  am  able  to  give 
only  a  few  general  facts.  The  first  settlers  came  in 
1843-44;  they  were:  Kittil  Jordgrev,  Hans  Bukaasa, 
and  Bjorn  Lien  from  Upper  Telemarken,  Hans  and 
Harald  Nordbo  from  Flaa,  Hallingdal,  Ole  Lia  from 


HEART  PRAIRIE  SETTLEMENT  295 

Hiterdal,  Halvor  Valkaasa  from  Sauland,  Lars 
Johnson  Lee,  Sjur  Hydle,  Knut  T.  Rio,  and  Tollef 
Grane  from  Voss,  and  Anon  Dalos ;  several  of  these 
had  families.  Lars  Lee  and  wife  Britha  came  to 
Muskego  in  the  summer  of  1843  and  to  Skoponong 
early  in  the  fall,  and  were  therefore  among  the  very 
earliest  in  that  locality.  They  lived  there  until 
1861,  when  they  located  at  Spring  Prairie,  Town  of 
Leeds,  Columbia  County.311  In  his  history  of  the 
Skoponong  Congregation  (founded  in  1844),  C.  M. 
Mason,  Secretary  of  the  congregation,  names  also 
the  following  among  the  earliest  members  of  the 
church:  Halvor  Mathison  (in  whose  house  the 
church  was  organized  in  1844),  Styrk  Erikson,  Knud 
Dokstad,  Nils  Herre,  Ole  Sjurson,  Simon  Sakrison, 
Jacob  Kaasne,  Halvor  Glenna,  Mathias  Baura, 
Bjorn  Hefte,  Sjur  Flittre,  Lars  Klove,  Mathias  Lia 
and  Even  Gulseth. 

In  1846  Syver  0.  Haaland,  wife  and  nine  child 
ren,  Hadle  Evenson  and  wife  Anne  J.  Fjosne,  and 
Tostein  H.  and  Osmond  0.  Hogstul  came  to  Skopon 
ong,  the  latter  two  from  Tuddal  in  Telemarken ;  the 
former  were  from  Etne  Parish  in  Sondhordland. 
Bjorn  Holland  of  Hollandale,  Wisconsin,  who  is  a 
son  of  Syver  Haaland,312  writes  me  that  they  came  on 
the  ship  Kong  Sverre  from  Bergen.313  In  Ulvestad's 
Nordmaendene  i  Amerika,  page  56,  appears  an  ac- 


311  Lars  Lee  died  in  1883,  his  wife  in  1905.     Dr.  Lewis  Johnson 
Lee  of  De  Forest,  Wisconsin,  is  their  son. 

312  The  family  changed  the  name  to  Holland  in  this  country. 

313  Letter  of  May  5,  1905. 


296  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

count  of  their  first  few  weeks  in  the  settlement  and 
of  S.  Haaland's  sickness  and  death.  The  Hogstul 
party  came  in  a  brig  by  the  name  of  Washington, 
which  carried  iron  from  Tvedestrand,  commanded 
by  a  Norwegian  captain  by  the  name  of  Simon  Cook. 
He  says: 

"In  Milwaukee,  there  were  only  a  few  stores  at  the 
time.  We  drove  with  oxen  and  a  wagon  to  the  so-called 
Skoponong  Settlement  near  Whitewater.  When  we  came 
there  nearly  all  the  settlers  lay  ill  with  ague,  the  condition 
was  wretched.  We  immediately  began  to  rid  and  break 
some  land  and  after  a  while  we  got  so  far  that  we  could 
raise  some  wheat.  But  we  had  to  haul  it  fifty  miles  to 
Milwaukee  with  oxen;  there  we  got  25  cents  per  bushel. 
.  .  .  wages  was  usually  25  cents  a  day  in  the  spring  and 
fall;  in  the  haying  it  was  50  cents.  But  there  was  little 
work  to  get.  Like  other  settlers  my  parents  were  poor. 
My  mother  made  baskets  from  withes;  these  she  then  car 
ried  on  her  back  about  the  prairie  and  sold  them  to  Amer 
icans,  getting  in  return  for  them  flour,  pork  and  garments, 
in  order  that  we  should  not  suffer  distress. 

Hadle  Evenson  moved  to  Perry,  Wisconsin,  in 
1854,  where  Mrs.  Evenson  died  in  1861.  The  oldest 
son  Edwin  Hadley,  enlisting  in  Co.  E,  15th  Wiscon 
sin,  was  killed  at  the  Battle  of  New  Hope  Church, 
Georgia,  in  May,  1864.  In  1875  Mr.  Evenson  settled 
at  Slater,  Story  County,  Iowa.  Peter  Hadley,  Treas 
urer  of  Webster  County,  is  the  only  surviving  son. 

Among  the  early  settlers  at  Skoponong  was  Mrs. 
Ingeborg  Nelson  who  came  from  Evanger,  Voss,  in 
1849.  She  left  Skoponong  a  few  years  later,  settling 
permanently  at  Deerfield,  Dane  County,  in  1853, 


HEART  PRAIRIE  SETTLEMENT  297 

where  she  is  still  living  at  the  age  of  ninety-five. 
Mrs.  Nelson  is  the  mother  of  Senator  Knute  Nelson 
of  Minnesota,  who  was  born  in  Norway  in  1843. 
Knute  Nelson  was  educated  at  Albion  Academy,  Al 
bion,  Wisconsin,  and  removed  to  Alexandria,  Minne 
sota  in  1871.  He  was  Governor  of  Minnesota  dur 
ing  1892-1895.  In  the  latter  year  he  was  elected  U. 
S.  Senator  and  has  been  reflected  twice  since,  serv 
ing  now  his  third  term. 

I  shall  mention  one  more  settler,  namely  Tor- 
stein  Rio, 3H  born  at  Vossevangen  in  1835,  who,  with 
his  wife  Ingeborg  (Bershaugen)  and  family  came  to 
America  in  1849  on  the  ship  Henrik  W  erg  eland  and 
located  at  Skoponong.  A  brother  whose  name  also 
was  Torstein  came  at  the  same  time,  and  the  family 
included  a  son  Nels  (Thompson),  who  is  living  at 
Madison,  Wisconsin,  having  moved  there  in  1860. 31S 
Torstein  Rio  died  at  Skoponong  in  1869,  his  wife 
died  in  Madison  in  1876. 

At  Pine  Lake  and  Nashota  in  northwestern 
Wausheka  County  a  considerable  number  of  Nor 
wegians  lived  among  the  forties  and  fifties,  since 
which  the  settlement  has  dwindled  very  much. 316  At 
Pine  Lake  the  first  Swedish  settlement  founded  in 
America  in  the  last  century  had  been  established 
in  1841  by  Gustav  Unonius. 317  In  1843  about  fifty 

314  Father  of  Knut  Rio. 

315  In  1880  Nels  Thompson  became  a  member  of  the  well  known 
firm  of  clothiers,  Boley,  Hinrichs  and  Thompson,  later  Hinrichs  and 
Thompson. 

316  Or  rather  also  in  part  Americanized. 

3171  have  discussed  this  in  my  Chapters  on  Scandanavian  Immi 
gration    (1906),  pages  83-85. 


298  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Norwegian  families  located  at  Pine  Lake,  according 
to  Unonius  Minnen,  1862,  page  3.  Unonius  mentions 
especially  a  Captain  Hans  Gasman  as  the  principal 
figure  there.  Gasman  had  a  large  family  of  sons 
and  daughters,  and  the  name  is  a  well  known  one 
among  the  early  pioneers  of  Racine,  Waukesha,  and 
Dodge  Counties. 318  Other  members  of  the  family 
were  Charles,  Peter  and  Captain  Johan  Gasman, 
who  commanded  the  Salvator,  plying  between  Skien 
and  New  York.  This  very  ship  brought  a  number 
who  located  at  Pine  Lake,  among  them  Halvor  Sal- 
veson  from  Gjerpen.319 

Among  the  fifty  families  who  came  to  Pine  Lake 
in  1843  I  may  name  Engelbret  Salveson  from  Gjer 
pen,  Erik  Helgeson,  Hans  Eoe,  Christen  Puttekaasa, 
Halvor  Eosholt,  Jacob  Eosholt,  Peter  Naes  from  near 
Skien  and  Gjerpen,  Ellef  Bjornson  and  Halvor  Hal- 
vorson  from  Saude,  Telemarken,  and  Tollef  Waller 
from  Eidanger  in  Lower  Telemarken,  Christopher 
Aamodt  and  Hans  Uhlen  from  Modum,  Tolleiv  Eois- 
land  and  Ole  Nummeland  from  Vallo  in  Ssetersdalen 
and  Ole  Lia  from  Gausdal.320  Some  of  these,  as  e.  g. 
Halvor  Halvorson  321  located  in  the  extreme  north- 

318  Into  this  county  the  settlement  extended  to  and  about  Aship- 
pun  and   Toland. 

319  Many  of  those  who  came  with  Capt.  Gasman  this  time  went 
to  Heart  Prairie. 

320  Holand  De  norske  Settlementers  Historic,  page  170,  to  which 
I  am  indebted  chiefly  for  this  roll  of  immigrants  to  Nashota,  etc.,  in 
1843. 

321  Halvorson  died  in  the  spring  of  1908  as  the  last  of  the  orig 
inal  Norwegian  settlers  at  Toland;  he  was  born  in  1818,  married  in 
1848  Kirsten  Aandrud,  who  survives  him. 


HEART  PRAIRIE  SETTLEMENT  299 

ern  part  of  the  settlement  at  Toland,  and  John  Lia 
settled  across  the  Jefferson  County  line, 3i2  but  most 
located  in  Waukesha  County  at  Hartland  or  Nashota. 
In  subsequent  years  there  arrived  constantly 
new  settlers  from  Skien,  Srctersdal  and  Gudbrands- 
dalen,  but  even  in  the  later  forties  many  began  to 
go  to  the  counties  immediately  northwest  to  Wau- 
paca  and  Portage  counties  and  elsewhere.  In  1850- 
54  these  counties,  as  also  AVaushara  and  Winnebago 
counties  on  the  south,  received  hosts  of  Norwegian 
settlers,  some  coming  direct  from  Norway,  a  large 
number  however  from  Racine  and  Dane  Counties, 
and  the  Pine  Lake  region. 323  The  period  of  growth 
in  this  settlement  was  therefore  relatively  short,  and 
the  removals  relatively  large.  The  result  was  that 
the  Norwegians  came  to  live  more  scattered  and  the 
community  soon  began  to  lose  its  distinctive  national 
character.  Thus  it  is  significant,  that  of  the  ninety 
services  held  during  1907  in  Vor  Frelsers  Kirke  at 
Oconomowoc  sixty-three  were  in  the  English  lan 
guage.  324  But  we  are  here  touching  upon  questions 
which  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  discuss  in  connection 
with  the  survey  of  settlement. 

322  Through  John  Lia 's  influence  this  then  came  to  be  the  des 
tination    of    the    earliest    emigrants    from    Gudbrandsdalen    between 
1846-49. 

323  Walworth  County  contributed  some  of  the  number ;  thus  Ole 
86'gal,  the  first  Norwegian  settler  at  Heart  Prairie,  was  one  of  those 
who  went  to  Waushara  County. 

324  By   way   of   comparison   the   number   of   English   services   to 
Norwegian  as  far  as  statistics  are  available  were  in  the  following 
localities:     Morris,    111.,    13    of    67,    Blue    Mounds,    Dane    Co.,    Wis., 
0  of  22;   Leland,   111.,   14  of  28;   Stoughton,  Wis.,  35  of  80;   Long 
Prairie,  7  of  25;   Koshkonong,  0  of  75;  "Muskego,"  41  of  112. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

The  Earliest  Norwegian  Settlers  at  Sugar  Creek, 
Walworth  County,   Wisconsin.     The  in 
flux  from  Land,  Norway,  to  Wiota 
and  Vicinity,  1844-1852 

We  have  briefly  referred  to  Sugar  Creek,  Wal 
worth  County,  Wisconsin,  in  chapter  XXXIII  above. 
This  little  settlement  received  its  first  Norwegian  set 
tlers  in  1844  when  Ole  Vale  and  wife  Anne  from  Hoi- 
den  Parish,  Skien,  located  there ;  with  them  came  the 
sons  John  and  Anders  and  the  daughters  Aasta, 
Anne,  Turine,  Andrea  and  Maria.  Vale  and  his 
wife  lived  in  Sugar  Creek  till  their  death,  and  the 
daughters  all  married  and  settled  there.  In  the 
same  year  Ole  Kittelson  and  Nils  T.  Kvamodden, 
both  unmarried  and  both  also  from  Holden,  came  to 
the  settlement.  Ole  Kittelson  located  permanently 
in  Sugar  Creek,  but  Nils  Kvamodden  and  wife  moved 
to  Norway  Township,  Goodhue  County,  Minnesota, 
in  1857.  There  they  died  years  ago,  the  homestead 
being  now  occupied  by  the  son  Ole. 

Christian  L.  Vestremo  and  wife  Ingeborg  and 
three  children,  and  Gunder  K.  Naeseth  emigrated 
from  Gjerpen  near  Skien,  in  1844.  Naeseth  moved 
to  Norway,  Minnesota,  in  1856  and  Vestremo  in  1857. 
According  to  Ole  Jacobson  of  Elk  Horn,  to  whom  I 
am  indebted  for  these  facts,  there  were  no  further 


SETTLERS  AT  SUGAR  CREEK  301 

accessions  to  the  colony  before  1847.  In  that  year 
his  parents  came  from  Gjerpen,  as  also  Jacob  Tor- 
s  ten  son  and  wife  Maren  Margrete  and  three  sons 
Ole,  Torsten  and  Jacob,  and  a  daughter,  Maria  with 
her  husband  Lars  Jensen  Teigen  and  family.  With 
them  came  also  Teigen 's  mother.  Jacob  Torstenson 
died  in  1861 ;  the  widow  is  still  living  at  the  old  home. 

Ole  Jacobson  writes  me  that  his  father  and 
family  left  Skien  in  April  by  the  ship  Axel  (og)  Val- 
borg,  Captain  Bloom,  going  first  as  far  as  Havre, 
France.  There  they  waited  three  weeks,  then  se 
cured  passage  with  an  American  ship,  the  journey 
being  very  slow.  Landing  in  Boston,  they  went  by 
train  to  Albany,  thence  by  canal  boat  to  Buffalo,  and 
by  steamboat  via  the  lakes  to  Milwaukee,  where  they 
arrived  sometime  in  August.  From  Milwaukee  they 
thereupon  proceeded  to  Sugar  Creek,  where  they 
located  permanently.  Ole  Jacobson  is  at  present 
living  on  the  farm  purchased  in  1847.  In  1849  Aslak 
Basmusson  Slettene  with  wife  Gunild  and  eight 
children  came  from  Gjerpen,  Norway. 32S  Grinde- 
melum,  with  wife,  son,  and  daughter,  also  came  in 
1849,  as  did  Peter  J.  Gromstulen,  wife  Svanang  and 
five  children,  and  Nils  J.  Overholt,  wife  and  two 
children. 

There  do  not  seem  to  have  been  any  further 
accessions  of  Norwegian  immigrants  during  the 
pioneer  days  of  the  Sugar  Creek  settlement.  In  the 
sixties  quite  a  number  came  and  located  at  and 

325  Some   of  the   children  have  moved  away,  to   Minnesota  and 
Washington. 


302  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

about  Elk  Horn  but  these  do  not  fall  within  the 
scope  of  our  survey. 

The  original  home  of  immigrants  from  Land, 
Norway,  was  Rock  Prairie,  as  we  saw  above,  chapter 
XXIV.  From  this  as  their  distribution  point  they 
migrated  west  and  north,  aiding  in  the  founding  of 
other  settlements.  As  early  as  1844  we  find  one 
pioneer  at  Wiota  from  Land,  Norway,  namely  Syver 
Johnson  Smed  (see  above  page  213).  But  the  influx 
from  Land  did  not  begin  until  1847. 326  In  that  year 
two  families,  numbering  in  all  fourteen  persons,  ar 
rived  via  Bock  Prairie;  they  were  those  of  Svend 
Norstelien  (wife  Karen,  and  five  children)  and  of 
the  widow  Kari  Lillebaek,  who  had  six  children. 327 
In  1848  Hovel  Tollefsrude,  wife  Bertha  and  child 
ren:  Christopher,  Hans,  Jahannes,  Siri,  and  Lovise 
arrived.  Further  immigrants  of  that  year  were :  Jo 
hannes  Brenom,  wife  Ingeborg  and  three  children; 
Hans  Halvorson  (Brenna),  wife  Eli,  and  children, 
Berte,  Halvor  and  Johannes;  Johannes  E.  Smeds- 
rud,  with  wife  Anne  and  two  sons  Engebret  and 
Mathias;  and  Johannes  Smehogen  (or  Smed)  with 
wife  Engeborg,  and  two  children. 

In  1849  came  Torkild  Husvseret,  with  wife  and 
three  sons,  Gulbrand,  Lars  and  Frederik;  Ole  Mon- 
son  Tollefsrude,  wife  Karen  and  three  children,  and 
Nils  Aason,  Ovre  Hasle  and  wife  Ingeborg,  who  had 

326  Matthew  J.  Ingebretson  of  Gratiot,  Wis.,  who  came  to  Wiota 
with  his  parents  in  1848,  has  kindly  aided  me  with  many  of  the  facts 
on  immigration  to  Wiota  in  1847-50. 

327  John  Larsen  Lillebaek  was  one  of  her  sons. 


SETTLERS  AT  SUGAR  CREEK  303 

come  to  Kock  Prairie  in  1848  (removed  to  Wiota  in 
1848).  Hans  Lillebaek  came  in  1850  and  about  twen 
ty  in  all  in  1851-52. 

Ole  Monson,  whom  we  have  mentioned  as  com 
ing  in  1849,  was  the  builder  of  the  old  Norwegian 
church  at  Wiota,  which  is  still  standing ;  the  present 
larger  and  more  commodious  structure  stands  on 
the  wall  built  by  Ole  Monson. 

There  were  not  very  many  from  other  provinces 
in  Norway  among  those  who  emigrated  to  Wiota  in 
the  late  forties.  We  have  spoken  of  Ingebrigt 
Fuglegjaerdet's  coming  in  1846  from  Long  Prairie, 
where  he  had  lived  two  years;  he  was  from  Vik, 
Sogn. 328 

From  Vik  came  Erik  I.  Haave  and  wife  in  1847, 
while  Harald  Melland  and  wife  Anne  came  from 
Telemarken.  From  Sigdal  there  came  one  family 
in  1848;  Ellef  (Alef)  Johnson  and  wife  Anne.  The 
latter  served  in  the  Civil  War,  in  Company  G  of  the 
Twenty-Second  Wisconsin  Eegiment.329  In  1872  he 
married  Mary  Larson,330  of  Blanchardville,  La  Fay- 
ette  County,  where  they  are  now  living. 

I  may  conclude  this  chapter  by  saying  that  Arne 

328  Ingebrigt  Johnson  removed  to  Town  of  Dane,  Dane  County, 
Wisconsin,  in   1851;   there  he  lived  till  his  death  in   1893,  his  wife 
having    died   in    1890.     John    J.    Johnson,    retired    farmer,    of    Lodi, 
Columbia  County,  Wisconsin,  is  their  son,  as  is  also  Joseph  Johnson 
of  Dane   Township  in  Dane  County. 

329  He  was  only  sixteen  when  he  enlisted. 

330  She  was  a  daughter  of  Ole  Larson,  who  served  in  the  Third 
Eegiment,  Wisconsin  Infantry,  in  the  Civil  War. 


304  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Vinje,  whose  name  is  so  intimately  interlinked  with 
the  history  of  the  community,  died  in  1903,  having 
lived  on  the  old  homestead  for  sixty-two  years.  Of 
his  eight  children,  three  are  living :  Peter  S.  Ander 
son,  Newell,  Iowa,  Daniel  K.  Anderson  and  Mrs. 
Martha  Brunkow  of  Woodford,  Wisconsin. 


CHAPTEE  XXXVI 

Continued   Immigration    from    Aurland,    Sogn,    to 

Koshkonong.     The  Arrival  of  Settlers  from 

Vik  Parish,  Sogn,  in  1845. 

In  the  year  1845-1846  immigration  to  Kosh- 
konong  from  Laurdal,  Vinje  and  Moe  Parishes  con 
tinued  and  a  considerable  number  came  from  Fles- 
berg.  The  accessions  from  Laurdal,  Moe,  and  Hvid- 
eseid  for  these  years  record  the  end  of  a  movement 
that  began  in  1843.  But  that  which  especially  char 
acterized  the  growth  of  the  Koshkonong  Settlement 
in  1845-1846  was  the  extensive  additions  through  im 
migrants  from  Sogn.  So  extensive,  in  fact,  was  the 
influx  from  Sogn  these  years  as  to  make  their  total 
representation  on  Koshkonong  at  once  exceed  that 
from  either  Voss  or  Numedal,  and  equal  to  about 
half  that  from  Telemarken.  These  four  have  ever 
since  been  the  dominant  elements  in  Koshkonong 's 
population.  A  part  of  this  immigration  from  Sogn 
was  from  parishes  represented  among  the  arrivals 
of  the  year  before.  Such  were  Botolf  J.  Grinde, 
Ole  N.  Steenhjerde  and  Sjur  I.  Romoren  from  Lei- 
kanger,  Herman  T.  Vee,  Joseph  J.  Gjellum  and  Her- 
mund  0.  Offerdal  from  Laerdal,  Anders  S.  Ovrebo, 
wife  Anne  and  three  children  from  Lyster,  Erik  L. 
Grov  and  Anders  H.  Odegaard  and  wife  Martha 
from  Hafslo. 


306  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

But  much  more  significant  was  the  immigration 
from  Aurland  Parish  in  1845-1816,  from  Sogndal  in 
1846,  and  the  new  immigration  from  Vik  Parish  in 
1845.  We  shall  discuss  these  three  groups  in  order 
briefly. 

We  have  noted  above,  Chapter  XXXI,  that  there 
were  several  persons  from  Aurland  Parish,  Sogn, 
among  the  immigrants  who  settled  on  Koshkonong 
in  1844.  I  am  now  in  receipt  of  a  letter  from  Anders 
J.  Flaam  of  Flaam  in  Aurland,  Norway,  relative  to 
the  earliest  emigration  from  Aurland  to  America. 
His  letter,  as  also  that  of  Eeverend  E,  P.  Juul,  the 
present  Minister  of  the  Parish,  shows  that  the  earli 
est  emigrants  left  there  in  1844.  I  quote  in  trans 
lation  from  Eeverend  JuuPs  letter: 

il  Those  who,  according  to  parochial  records  here, 
were  the  first  to  emigrate  to  America  are  the  following: 
Iver  Hansen  Vingum,  age  twenty-five,  unmarried, (331)  Ole 
Torjussen  Flaam,  age  fifty,  wife  Anna  Botolfsdatter,  age 
forty,  and  children,  Ole,  thirteen  and  a  half  years  old,  and 
Anders,  ten  years.  Of  these,  Iver  Hansen 's  certifcate  of 
emigration  is  shown  to  have  been  issued  March  20,  1844, 
and  he  to  have  left  the  district  on  April  13th  the  same 
year.  Ole  Torjussen 's  certificate  of  emigration  was  issued 
on  the  13th  of  April,  1844,  and  his  departure  took  place 
the  following  day.  All  therefore  emigrated  together. ' ' 

Reverend  Juul  thereupon  gives  a  list  of  those 
who  emigrated  from  Aurland  in  1845,  and  while  sev- 

331  The  writer's  father  has  always  pronounced  the  name  Vangen, 
which  also  according  to  Haakon  Lie,  is  the  correct  form.  Iver  Van- 
gen  settled  on  Bonnet  Prairie,  where  his  son  Hans  Vangen  is  still 
living. 


CONTINUED   IMMIGRATION  307 

eral  of  these  did  not  settle  on  Koshkonong  it  will 
be  of  interest  to  the  reader  to  see  this  list.  I  there 
fore  give  it  complete  here: 

"In  1845,  on  the  19th  of  April  the  natives  of  Aurland 
(Aurhendinger)  left  their  native  village:  Torsten  Olsen 
Bjelde,  (45  years  of  age)  wife,  Anna  (29),  and  son,  Ole 
(3%  years)  ;  Iver  Ingebrigtsen  Ytreli  (32  years)  ;  Jens 
Botolfsen  Bergkvam  (23%  years)  ;  Jens  Torgersen  Taerum 
(44%  years),  wife  Ragnhilde  Monsdatter  (27)  and  son 
Torger  (one  year)  ;  Sjnr  Olsen  Stundal  (19)  and  sister 
Katrine  (30) ;  Anna  Marie  Hansdatter  Vangen  (28%)  ; 
Erik  Johannesen  Ytreli  (43)  and  wife  Marthe  Larsdat- 
ter  (48)  and  children;  Brita  (21  years),  Magnilde  (18 
years),  Johannes  (16  years),  Ingeborg  (14  years),  Lars 
(10%  years),  Haakon  (9  years),  Anna  (7  years),  Tomas 
(5  years)  ;  Johanne  Botolsdatter  Ytreli  (16  years)  ;  Eilef 
Olson  Loven  (24  years)  ;  Mikkel  Knutsen  Osterbro  (22y2 
years),  and  wife  Martha  Gulvsdatter  (27%  years),  and 
son  Knut  (two  months)  ;  Lars  Gundersen  Gjellum  (33% 
years)  and  wife  Gjertrud,  and  son  Knut  (4  years)  ; 
Martha  Gundersdatter  (17  years)  ;  Josef  Johannesen  Vin- 
dedal  (73  years),  and  wife  Anna  Jensdatter;  John  John- 
sen  Frondal  (28  years)  and  wife  Magnhilde;  Rognald 
Johannesen  Knit  (19%  years)  ;  Simon  A.  Gjellum  (20 
years)  ;  Peder  Monsen  Loven  (34  years)  ;  Johanne  M. 
Loven  (20  years)  ;  Iver  J.  Stene  (22  years). 

These  are  the  emigrants  who  first  went  to  America 
from  this  Parish. 

Aurland  Parish,  January  25th,  1909. 
E.  P.  Juul." 

Some  of  the  immigrants  mentioned  by  Reverend 
Jiml  are  still  living  on  Koshkonong.  Thus  among 


308  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

the  children  of  Erik  J.  Ytreli  (who  died  in  1892,  at 
the  age  of  90), 332  Johannes  (John  E.  Johnson)  is 
still  living  on  the  old  homestead,  two  miles  east  of 
Utica,  and  his  brother  Haakon  is  living  there  with 
him. 333  Simon  Gjellum  lived  two  years  in  Chicago, 
then  entered  the  Mexican  War,  after  which  he  came 
to  Koshkonong.  Ivar  I.  Ytreli 334  had  been  a  school 
teacher  and  deacon  at  Systrond,  in  which  capacity 
he  continued  serving  here  in  this  country,  at  Rock 
Prairie,  Eock  County,  whither  he  went  soon  after 
arriving  in  Wisconsin;  he  died  there  about  1875. 


332  The  family  shortened  the  name  to  Lie  in  this  country. 

333  During  a  visit  with  him  at  the  John  E.  Johnson  homestead 
last  August  I  had  the  pleasure  of  listening  to  H.  Lie's  narrative  of 
the  emigration  of  this  party  from  Aurland  and  of  their  early  ex 
periences.     Haakon  Lie  has  a  remarkable  memory  and  he  has  made 
it  a  point  to  follow  the  career  and  keep  in  touch  with  his  fellow 
immigrants  of  1845,  and  their  history  in  this  country.     Space  does 
not  permit  me  to  give  here  details  from  my  interview  with  him,  nor 
from  that   with   others   relative  to  the  immigration   of  these  years. 
But  I  may   add  that  the  party  sailed  with   Kong  Sverre,    Captain 
Fisher;  they  were  six  weeks  and  four  days  on  the  way  from  Bergen 
to  New  York,  thence  they  went  by  steamboat  to  Albany,  where  they 
arrived  on  the  fourth  of  July.     Arriving  in  Chicago  one  of  the  last 
days  in  July,  they  remained  there  a  week  then  proceeded  to  their 
destination,  Koshkonong,  driving  with  oxen  from  Chicago. 

Haakon  Lie  says  there  were  none  on  the  ship  from  Telemarken 
or  Numedal;  the  300  passengers  were  all  from  Sogn  and  Voss;  but  I 
learn  through  others  that  there  were  some  from  Hardanger  on  the 
ship. 

The  limitations  of  space  necessitates  curtailment  in  the  account 
in  nearly  every  chapter.  From  the  vast  amount  of  material  I  have, 
I  can  offer  here  practically  only  that  which  pertains  specifically  to 
the  history  of  immigration. 

334  Or,  as  Kristen  Sherpi  of  West  Koshkonong  called  him  in  an 
interview  last  summer,  Ivar  i  Heggvikji. 


CONTINUED  IMMIGRATION  309 

Of  other  immigrants  from  Aurland,  which  Mr. 
Anders  J.  Flaam  speaks  of,  I  shall  mention  Peder  J. 
Gjeirsme,  and  Torbjorn  0.  Gjeirsme,  wife  Metta  and 
family,  who  came  in  1846,  and  Hans  Torjussen  Flom, 
who,  he  says,  went  soon  after  Ole  T.  Flom. 

During  the  year  1845  there  came  also  a  group  of 
immigrants  to  Koshkonong  from  Vik  Parish,  name 
ly  several  families  from  near  Arnefjord.  This 
party  included  several  Naeset  families,  the  oldest  liv 
ing  survivor  of  which  is  Jens  J.  Naeset  (b.  1828), 
well-known  Koshkonong  architect,  who  resides  at 
Stoughton,  Wisconsin. 33S  I  have  had  several  inter 
views  with  Mr.  Naeset  relative  to  their  sailing,  and 
their  early  life  as  pioneers ;  it  will  be  possible  to  bive 
here  only  the  briefest  facts.  Jens  Naeset  tells  me 
that  there  were  eight  estates  at  Naeset  and  that  the 
owners  of  four  of  them  sold  out  at  the  same  time 
and  went  to  America.  The  biggest  of  these  estates 
was  that  of  Ingebrigt  Naeset,  or  as  he  was  usually 
called,  Skuungen.  In  the  party  were  Jens  Naeset 's 
parents,  Johannes  Jensen  Naeset  and  wife  Eli,  his 
oldest  sister  Gro,  married  to  Ole  Larson  (Haugan)336 
who  is  living  in  Cambridge,  Wisconsin,  two  brothers 
Ingebrigt  and  John,  and  another  sister  who  later 
married  Henrik  Lien  of  East  Koshkonong. 337 

335  Jens    Naeset,    I    have   just    learned,    died   at    Stoughton    last 
week,  May,  1908. 

336  They  had  one  child  when  they  came;  she  is  Mrs.  Ole  Venaas, 
Eockdale,  Wisconsin. 

337  Johannes  Naeset  was  born  in  Feios,  but  his  father  had  bought 
Naeset  in  1823  and  settled  there,  three  Norwegian  miles  from  Arne 
fjord. 


310  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

There  were  three  ships  that  sailed  at  the  same 
time,  Naeset  relates.  One  of  these  was  the  Kong 
Sverre,  Captain  Fischer  (of  which  Haakon  Lie  speaks 
above),  and  on  which  the  emigrants  from  Aurland 
were  embarked.  Another  was  a  two-masted  sloop, 
Peder  Schroder,  and  which  carried  about  130  pas 
sengers,  among  whom  the  Naeset  families ;  this  sloop 
had  crossed  twice  before.  The  third  was  one  com 
manded  by  Captain  Brock.  The  passengers  on  this 
ship  were  mostly  from  Sogn,  but  there  were  three 
boys  from  Hardanger,  and  a  few  persons  from  Voss. 
Peder  Schroder  also  carried  emigrants  principally 
from  Sogn,  but  there  were  two  from  Voss,  says 
Naeset.  One  of  these  was  Brynjulf  Leland,  who  set 
tled  at  Norway  Grove,  where  he  is  still  living.  The 
other  was  Odd  Himle,  whom  we  have  met  with  above 
page  168,  as  the  guide  of  the  first  party  of  explorers 
of  Koshkonong  in  1839.  He  had  returned  to  Nor 
way  in  1844,  married  there  in  1845,  and  was  now  re 
turning  to  America.  Among  those  who  came  on  the 
Brock-ship  were  Skuungen  and  Ole  Menes. 

We  recognize  in  Captain  Brock's  ship  the  same 
ship  that  Lasse  Ellingson  of  Capron,  Illinois,  came 
on  in  1845.  It  was  furthermore  the  very  same  voy 
age  of  this  ship.  The  name  of  the  ship  was  Albion. 
For  a  partial  list  of  the  passengers  on  this  ship  as 
of  Peder  Schroder,  whose  captain  was  Vingaard, 338 
the  reader  may  now  be  referred  to  the  account  of  the 
sailing  of  these  two  ships  above,  Chapter  XXXII. 


338  The  much  talked  of  Vingaard-ship. 


CONTINUED   IMMIGRATION  311 

The  two  ships  Kong  Sverre  and  Peder  Schroder 
sailed  side  by  side  the  whole  way,  relates  Naeset, 
Kong  Sverre  arriving  in  New  York  in  the  evening, 
Peder  Schroder  the  next  morning.  Captain  Brock's 
ship  which  had  started  ten  days  earlier,  arrived 
three  days  later  (see  above  page  275).  From  New 
York  the  immigrants  were  taken  over  the  usual  route 
to  Milwaukee. 339  Having  arrived  in  Muskego,  they 
secured  Halvor  Luraas  to  take  their  goods  to  Kosh- 
konong;  he  brought  them  to  Clinton  (Rockdale), 
where  the  first  man  they  met  was  Torstein  Selseng, 
who  had  emigrated  from  Aurland,  Sogn,  to  Kosh- 
konong  the  preceding  year.  Johannes  Nrcset,  who 
was  a  man  of  considerable  means  for  the  time, 
bought  the  land,  which  is  now  occupied  by  the  son 
Ingebrigt  Na^set,  which  is  section  thirty-five  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  Christiana  Township. 

Johannes  Naeset  was  born  in  Leikanger  Parish 
in  1795 ;  his  wife,  Eli  I.  Berdahl,  was  born  in  1797. 
She  died  in  Koshkonong  in  1850,  Johannes  died  in 
1882.  He  was  noted  for  his  ability  as  a  mechanic, 
was  successful  as  a  maker  of  violins,  and  was  him 
self  a  capable  player.  Jens  Naeset  early  dis 
tinguished  himself  as  a  builder  and  an  architect. 
Though  but  sixteen  years  old  he  assisted  in  the  build 
ing  of  the  old  log  church  in  East  Koshkonong  in 
1844,  and  it  was  Nreset  who  took  it  down  again  in 
1858  and  constructed  the  old  stone  church,  which  a 
few  years  ago  was  replaced  by  a  handsome  brick 

339  Mr.  Naeset's  full  account  of  this  journey  I  shall  publish  else 
where. 


312  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

edifice.  He  also  built  the  tower  of  the  old  Liberty 
Prairie  Church,  and  a  number  of  the  oldest  houses 
on  Albion  Prairie  were  erected  by  him.  Jens  Nseset 
was  married  in  1850;  he  has  no  children.  Mrs.  Ole 
Melaas  of  Stoughton,  Wisconsin,  is  an  adopted 
daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Naeset.  34° 

As  has  been  noted,  there  was  a  considerable  im 
migration  from  Sogndal,  Sogn,  in  1846 ;  to  name  only 
a  few:  Ole  C.  Teigen,  Ellend  T.  Quale,  with  wife 
Dordei  Baardsdatter  and  family,  eight  in  all,  Anders 
S.  Hundere,  Nils  0.  Selseng  and  wife,  and  Johannes 
I.  Gjerde.  From  Aurland,  Sogndal,  and  Hafslo 
there  came  others  in  the  following  four  years.  I 
shall  here  name  Peder  Sylfestson  Aaberge  from 
Hafslo,  who  came  in  1847,  Ole  0.  Anderson  (1848), 
Ole  0.  Hemsing  (1849),  both  from  Sogndal,  Atle  S. 
Gjellum  and  family,  Per  Sherping  and  wife  Kris  tine 
and  Kristen  Olson  Gulvangen  from  Aurland  in  1849. 
Of  these  Aaberge  later  moved  to  Minnesota.  Ole 
Anderson  (often  called  Skog-Ola)  settled  three 
miles  north  of  Albion,  where  he  lived  till  his  death. 
He  married  Guri  Pederson,  adoptive  daughter  of 
Torstein  Selseng  in  1851,  who  had  come  to  America 
in  1849.  She  died  in  June,  1909.  Ole  Hemsing  lo 
cated  first  in  Cottage  Grove;  in  1855  he  purchased 
the  old  Hemsing  farm  three  miles  north  of  Stough 
ton,  later  owned  by  the  son  Ole  H.  Hemsing  (b.  1853), 
since  1884,  of  Stoughton,  Wisconsin.  Ole  0.  Hemsing 
died  about  1895,  the  widow  (Ragnilda)  died  in  1907. 


340  The  Naosets  have  been   living  in  Stoughton   since    1876. 


CONTINUED  IMMIGRATION  313 

Per  Sharping  died  early  and  the  widow  married 
Kristen  Olson,  who  then  took  the  name  Sherping 
(Sherpi).  Kristen  Sherpi  (b.  1823)  is  still  living 
at  the  old  homestead  near  West  Koshkonong 
at  the  old  homestead  near  West  Koshkonong  Church. 
There  was  scattered  immigration  from  Telemarken 
down  to  1850,  especially  from  Hvideseid,  about  forty 
in  all  came  from  Hallingdal,  and  twenty- five  from 
Hardanger;  Valders,  Ringsaker,  Biri  and  Vardal, 
and  a  dozen  other  provinces  and  parishes  are  repre 
sented  by  four  or  five  settlers  each.  The  first  to 
arrive  from  Hardanger  were  Svend  L.  Lund, 
Ingebrekt,  Nicolai,  and  Johannes  Erdahl,  Guttorm 
Buo,  Ole  L.  and  Aslak  E.  Quammen;  these  came  in 
1847.  From  Eingsaker  came  Anders  J.  Tommer- 
stigen,  wife  Maria  Olsdatter  and  children  Johannes, 
Olive,  Peter  (b.  1843)  and  Karen  Marie,  in  1846, 
while  from  North  Aurdal  in  Valders  came  Ole  Loe 
and  Ole  H.  Hippe,  both  with  families,  and  from 
Slidre,  Tollef  H.  Gvale,  all  in  1847. 

I  shall  now  offer  a  copy  of  the  official  register  of 
members  of  the  Koshkonong  churches  during  this  pe 
riod,  according  to  the  Parochial  Eecords  left  by  Rev 
erend  J.  W.  C.  Dietrichson  for  the  years  1844  to 
1850.  This  is  here  printed  for  the  first  time  and  will 
be  read  with  considerable  interest  by  the  many  des 
cendants  of  the  founders  of  these  two  historic  con 
gregations  on  Koshkonong  Prairie. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 


Kirkeregister."  Church  Register  of  the  East  Kosh- 
konong,  West  Koshkonong  and  Liberty  Prairie 
Congregations  as  Constituted  During  the 
Years  of  Reverend  J.  W.  C.  Dietrich- 
son's  Incumbency  of  the  Pastorate 
from  1844  to  1850,  and  as  Re 
corded  by  Reverend  Diet- 
richson. 341 


Bygd 

Ole   Knudsen  Trovatten 
Gunnul    Olsen    Vindaeg 

Ole,    1842 

Gudbrand  Gudbrandson  Holtan 
Torkild    Gunlegsen    Sundboe M2 
Torstein   Thronsen   Selseng 
John   Pederson   Tverberg 
Knud    Mortensen    Roland 
Mikkel    Johnson    Engesaeter 843 
Niels   Olsen    Smetbak 
Gisle    Helgesen    Venaas 
Sondre    Olsen    Reishus 
Even   Stenerson   Bilstad 
Johannes    Johnson    Berg 
Gunder   Jorgensen    Fladland 
Bjorn    Gulbrandsen    Morkvold 

Gulbrand 
Halvor    Johnson    Grovund 


Indvan- 

Navn 

drede 

Fodt 

Kones  Navn 

i  Aar 

Aar 

og   Fodselsaar 

Laurdal 

1840 

1807 

Rollaug 

1839 

1808 

Guri,   1811 

1842 

Flesberg 

1843 

Sillejord 

1843 

1816 

Margit 

Sogndal 

1844 

Kari 

Tind 

1842 

1811 

Gro 

1844 

Leganger 

1844 

1819 

Synneva,     1822 

Rollaug 

1842 

Barbro 

Rollaug 

1844 

Sillejord 

1843 

1820 

Moe 

1843 

1802 

Dagne 

Kragero 

1844 

Hvidsoe 

1843 

Rolland 

1842 

Asbjor 

Nissedal 


1843 


Gunhild 


341  To  save  space  I  have  set   the   wife's  name   at  the  extreme 
right  of  the  page,  instead  of  below  the  husband's  name;   children's 
names  are  given  in  the  second  line.     The  English  foot  notes  are  my 
own  additions.     Caption  in  fourth  column  added  by  me. 

342  Han  bor  paa  Sun  Prairie.     Han  arbeidede  den  forste  Db'be- 
font  i  Vestre  Kirke,   1844. 

343  Er  flyttel  til  Norway  Grove. 


CHURCH  REGISTER 


315 


Gaute    Ingebretsen    Gulliksrud 
Niels    Colbeinsen    Fladland 
Hans    Pedersen    Tverberg 

Peder,    1845 
Amund    Anderson 
Anfin  Anfindsen   Haugerud 
Knud    Olsen    Holtene 
Mikkel    Hansen    Strommen 
Anen    Tollefsen   Bolstad 
Baruld    Johnsen    Strandskougen 

Aase  Ilelene,  Hel) 
Knud  Aslaksen  Gjottil 
Niels  Torstensen  Seim 

Ingeleif,   Torsten,    Britha 
Christen    Olsen    Hole 
Tollef    Olsen    Kaase 
Johannes    Johnson    Berge 
Ellef    Anderson    Berg 
Tollef   Johannesen   Berge 
Jens    Pedersen    Vehus 
Knud    Osmundsen   Dahle 
Vetle  Osmundsen  Dahle 
Richard    Bjornsen    Rotkjon 
Knud    Aslaksen    Juve 
Halvor    Paulsen    Grovum 
Even    Eilertsen    Buaas 
Bjorn    Olson    Rom 
Hellik   Gundersen   Vashovd 
Peder    Larsen    Svartskuur 

Marthe    Marie,    Grethe 
Thore   Knudsen   Nore 
Knud    Kittilsen    Baglie 
Ole    EJlingsen    Fladland 
Peder    Kittilsen    Byestolen 
Tov    Kittilsen    Svimbll 

Kittil    1833,    Ole,    Gunhild 
John    Halvorsen    Grovum 
Ole    Pedersen    Selseng 
Tarald   Ellefsen   Midboe  s" 
Ole    Helgesen   Lien 

Barbro    Larsdatter    (her    child),  Ole 
Lars  Johannesen  Hollo  Hedemarken 

Fredrik,    Martin,    Anders 
Gunstein    Rolfsen    Omdal  Moland 

Odne    Osmundsen    Bondal  Moland 

Halvor    Larsen    Stahlsbraaten  Rollaug 

Gjermund  Knudsen  Sunde  Rollaug 


id             Tind 

1843 

1815 

Kari 

Hvidsoe 

1843 

Tind 

1841 

1814 

Ingeborg 

,     1820 

Stavanger 

1836 

Ingeborg 

Rollaug 

1844 

Hvidsoe 

1843 

Kirkesanger 

Hvidsoe 

1843 

Gjerpen 

1844 

?en          Drangedal 

1843 

Kari    Kr 

istine 

.arie 
Laurdal 

1843 

1803 

Thone    1816 

Leirdal 

1844 

1812 

Mari 

i 

Vos 

1844 

1813 

Laurdal 

1844 

Laurdal 

1843 

1791 

Birgit 

Sandsvaerd 

1843 

Laurdal 

1843 

1814 

Rollaug 

1842 

1814 

Sillejord 

1843 

Sillejord 

1843 

Vinje 

1842 

1816 

Hvidsoe 

1843 

1799 

Gudbjor 

1802 

Nissedal 

1843 

Krageroe 

1843 

1799 

Krageroe 

1843 

Flesberg 

1842 

Marith 

Eger 

1843 

Groe 

Sophie 

Rollaug 

1842 

Gjertrud 

Flesberg 

1843 

Sogndal 

1844 

Vos 

1843 

Tind 

1836 

1801 

Sigrid,   1800 

ild    1843 

Nissedal 

1843 

Sogndal 

1844 

Holt 

1843 

Anne 

Rollaug 

1841 

Thuri 

1839 

1844 
1843 
1843 
1839 


Marie 


1820 
1812 


344  Married  the  widow  Anne  Gurine  Engebrektsdatter  in  1846. 


316 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Ole    Knudsen    Hjemdal 

Laurdal 

1844 

1799 

Gunder    Gundersen    Vashovd 

Flesberg 

1842 

Kirsti 

Ole    Torgersen    Bergland 

Moc 

1843 

Knud    ElHngsen    Doknaes 

Holt 

Christen    Lassesen   Melaas 

Sogndal 

1844 

1799     Aase,    1803 

Peder    Larsen    Hollo 

Ringsager 

1839 

Stener    Evensen    Bilstad 

Moe 

1843 

1828 

Halvor    Aslaksen    Kostvedt 

Vinje 

1842 

Sigrid 

Aslak  1845 

Ole    Laurandsen    Hogndalen 

Sillejord 

1843 

1807 

John  Halvorsen  Vindlos 

Laurdal 

1844 

Even    Jorgensen    lualen 

Laurdal 

1844 

Osmund   Aslaksen    Nsestestue 

Vinje 

1843 

1797 

Hermund   Endresen   Huke 

Leganger 

1844 

1811     Kirsti 

Endre,    Lars 

Neri    Tarjesen    Hauge 

Hvidsoe 

1844 

Peder    Larsen    Gjerde 

Leganger 

1844 

1797 

Halvor   Laurantsen   Fosheim 

Sillejord 

1843 

1810 

Aslak   Olsen   Gjergjord 

Hvidsoe 

1843 

Ole    Iversen    Huseboe 

Leganger 

1844 

1808     Ingeleiv,   1805 

Anna    1833,    Gjertrud    1837,    Lars    1840,    Tver 

1844 

Lars    Larsen   Hollo 

Ringsager 

1839 

Gunbjor 

Ole    Knudsen   Dyrland 

Sillejord 

1843 

1819 

Kittil    Kittilsen    Rinden 

Moland 

1843 

1791 

Ole    Sondessen    Braekken 

Vinje 

1844 

Sjur    Sjursen    Olmen 

Sogndal 

1844 

1816 

Gotskalk    Odmundsen    Meland 

Vos 

1844 

1806 

Thone   Aslaksdatter   Lien 

Laurdal 

1843 

1807 

Anna   Larsdatter  Eggum  345 

Leganger 

1843 

1811 

(widow,    one    child,    Anna) 

Stephen    Knudsen    Gilderhus 

Vos 

1838 

1813     Anne,    1806 

Elling   Olsen   Fladland 

Sogndal 

1844 

Knud    Annundsen   Jamsgaard 

Vinje 

1843 

John    Osmundsen    Suboe 

Henrik    Olsen    Haeve 

Vos 

1844 

1800 

Berge   1833 

Reinert    Andreas    Gunstelnsen 

Moland 

1844 

Clemet    Larsen    Stahlsbraaten 

Modum 

1843 

Johannes    Larsen    Hollo 

Ringsaker 

1839 

1822     Andrine 

Ingeborg  Olsdatter  Trovatten, 

EnkeLaurdal 

1843 

Ole    Herbransen    Morkvold 

Rollaug 

1842 

Aslak    Evensen    Groven 

Laurdal 

1843 

1802 

Bjorn   Olsen   Hustvedt 

Vinje 

1843 

Amund    Olsen   Jordet 

Moland 

1843 

1816 

Tollef  Kittilsen   Rinden 

Moland 

1843 

1825 

Gunder    Kittilsen    Rinden 

Moland 

1843 

1823 

Ole  Andersen  Vaerken 

Leganger 

1844 

1823 

345  Was  married  in  1845  to  Sjur  Colbeinsen  Droksvold. 


CHURCH  REGISTER 


317 


Sillejord 

Rollaug 

Tind 

Vos 

Vinje 

Hvidsoe 

Vinje 

Laurdal 

Laurdal 

Krageroe 


Osmund   Vetlensen   Dahle 
Herbrand  Tollefsen  Morkvold 
Knud    Helliksen    Roe 
Ole    Larson    Stromi 
Anund    Olsen    Drotning 
Gunleg  Johnsen  Haugelie 
Aslak    Bjornson    Rotkjon 
Thron   Halvorsen   Gjotil 
Ole  Aslaksen   Rorge 
Abraham    Knudsen    Ronningen 

Knud 

Erik    Knudsen    Ronningen 
Halvor    Eilertsen    Dahl 

Eilert,    Olaus,    Carl 
Niels    Johnson    Luraas 
Anver    Halvorsen    Grovum 
Anders    Halvorsen    Grovum 
Tarje    Nerisen    Haugc 
Ole    Sorensen    Quistrud 
Knud    Halvorsen    Teisberg 
Thorbjorn    Guttormsen    Viig 
Ole    Gulbrandson    Holtan 
Niels    Olsen    Grovum 
Knud    Olsen    Lien 
Halvor   Johnsen   Donstad 
Torstein   Gunlegsen    Bringa 
Askjer   Knudsen   Hjemdal,   Pige 
John   Olsen   Haugen 
Harald    Kittilsen   Dahle 
Halvor    Kittilsen    Luraas 

Kittil  1840,  Niels  1845,  Ingeborg 
Lars   Gunlegsen    Sundboe  Sillejord 

Berit    Levorsdatter    Bergerud 
Anders  Andersen  Fenne 
Aadne   Bjornson  Uen 
Botolf  Larsen  Lunde 
Knud    Thoresen    Nore 
Aslau   Thorsdatter   Kaase 
Gulbrand    Gulbrandsen    Holtan 
Kittil   Gulliksen   Baglie 
Inbeborg    Tollefsdatter   Midtlien 

Tellef,   Gunhild,   Thone 
Mons    Simonsen    Halfsrund 
Halvor    Danielsen    Stensrud 
Bjorn    Osmundsen    Nsestestue 
Eigil    Aslaksen    Lien 
Erik    Henriksen    Haeve 


Krageroe 
Krageroe 

Tind 

Nissedal 

Nissedal 

Hvidesoe 

Tind 

Laurdal 

Sillejord 

Flesberg 

Nissedal 

Laurdal 

Hvidesoe 

Sillejord 

Nordrehaug 

Sillejord 

Tind 


Flesberg 

Vos 

Hvidesoe 

Vos 

Rollaug 

Rollaug 

Flesberg 

Flesberg 

Moland 


Viig 

Sanne 

Vinje 

Vinje 

Vos 


1843 

1842 

1839  Anne 

1844     1796 

1843     1819     Lisbeth  » 

1844 

1842  1826 

1843  1819 

1843       Gunhild 
1843       Ingeborg 


1843 
1843 


Anne 


1843   1789 
1843   1814 
1843   1824 
1844 
1843 

1843  1803 
1843 

1843 
1843 

1844  1797  Ragnhild 
1843  1816 

1843  1817 

1840 
1843 
1841  1814  Jorand,  1815 

1843  1829 

1843 

1838 

1843 

1844 

1842 

1842 

1843 

1843 

1843 

1844 
1849 
1843 
1843 
1844 


346  Lisbeth  Evensdatter  Tvebsekken,  from  Vinje. 


318 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Ole  Nielsen  Grovum 

Torsten    Torstenson    Gaarden 

John  Johnson  Landsvaerk 

Peder,  John 

Tollef    Sigurdsen   Tveten 
Juri    Knudsdatter    Holtene 
Turi  Hermandsdatter    Fjerrestad  sao 
Martha   ElHngsdatter   Fladland 
Ingeborg    Halvorsdatter    Hagedalen 
Anna    Christensdatter   Melaas 
Martha   Henriksdatter   Haeve 
Aslau    Eivindsdatter    Qualen 
Guro    Olsdatter    Stromi 
Synneva    Olsdatter    Huseboe 
Ingeborg  Tarjesdatter  Dyrdal 
Ragnhild  Herbrandsdatter  Morkvold 
Gjertrud   Brynildsdatter   Sanve 
Knud   Olsen   Hjemdal 
Thorbjorn    Gunderson    Fladland 
Halvor    Nerisen    Hauge 
Asbjorn  Eivindson  Qualen 
Colbein    Nielson    Fjelclftye 
Tollef  Anesen   Bolstad 
Ole   Gundersen   Bringen 
Tarje   Aslaksen    Lien 
Ole    Henriksen    Hsve 
Gunhild    Aslaksdatter    Giottil 
Kristi  Halstensdatter  Vinje 
Knut  Jarandsen   Bosboen 
Ole  Olsen  Stuen 

Aslak,   Ole 

Gunvor    Johannesdatter    Berge 
Gunleg   Torkildsen    Sundboe 
Gunder   Olsen   Skrabak 
Ole    Anderson    Sanden 
Kittil    Tovson   Aase 
Liv   Pedersdatter   Bjaaen,   Enke 
Johannes    Anderson   Aabo 
Ole   Knudsen   Gilderhus 

Britha 

Lars  Nilsen  Vaehle 
Lars  Torgersen  Rote 

Torge   1845 
Torstein   Levorsen   Bergerud 

Levor 


Nissedal 

1843 

Tind 

1842 

Anna 

Hjendahl 

1842 

Anne 

Omgangsskolelasrer,                         Kit 

Laurdal 

1844 

Hvidesoe 

1843 

Viig 

1844 

Sogndal 

1844 

Hvidesoe 

1843 

Sogndal 

1844 

Vos 

1844 

Laurdal 

1844 

Vos 

1844 

Sogndal 

1844 

1831  Ml 

Laurdal 

1843 

1829 

Rollaug 

1842 

Vos 

1844 

Laurdal 

1844 

Hvidesoe 

1843 

Hvideso 

1844 

Laurdal 

1844 

Vos 

1844 

Gjerpen 

1844 

Sillejord 

1843 

1830 

Moe 

1843 

Vos 

1844 

Laurdal 

1843 

1792 

Vos 

1844 

1821 

Sillejord 

1843 

Sovde 

1843 

1814     Asian 

Laurdal 

1843 

1822 

Sillejord 

1843 

1785    Marglt 

Sillejord 

1843 

Sillejord 

1843 

1821 

Sillejord 

1843 

Sillejord 

1842 

Hvidesoe  * 

1843 

Vos 

1839 

1817     Martha 

Vos 

1844 

1803 

Vos 

1840 

1819     Ingebor 

Flesberg 


1842 


Kirsti 


350  Later  married  Stephen  Olsen  Dahle. 

351  She  was  born  in  Leganger. 


CHURCH  REGISTER 


319 


Anne  Marie  Haivorsdatter  Thorstad 

enke 

There   Olsen   Kaase 
Niels   Larsen    Bolstad 

Lars,    Ingeborg 
Ole    Sjurdsen    Gilderhus 

Martha    1845,    Syvert    1845 
Lars   Davidsen    Rekve 
Ole    Larsen   Dygsteen 
Niels    Cornelius    Nielson    Tveten 
Osmund    Osmundsen    Lunde 
Niels    Kllefsen    Masterud 
Vaeren    Svendsen    Tveten 
Even    Olsen    Unskard 

Ole,    Mari 

Aasild    Torgrimsdatter    Strand 
Anders  Nielsen   Grove 
Anders    Halskusen    Sanden 
Even    Sorensen    Bjaaland 
Barbro     Kvensdatter  34T 
Eilert    Evensen    Buaas 
Aslak  Anundsen  Juvet 

Thore,    Thov,    Thone 
Even    Olsen    Ramberg 
Gunhild   Nielsdatter   Luraas 
Aslau  Nielsdatter  Luraas 
Jacob   Jarandsen   Bosboen 
Gulleck  Torstensen   Saue 
Donaut   Torgeirsdatter   Rolje 
Ole    Knudsen    Schaerdal  3« 
Ole    Knudsen    Traengeklev 
Knud    Ingebrigtsen    Gjerde 
Ole   Gunlegsen    Sundboe 
Knud  Olsen  Asdohldalen 
Johannes   Christiansen   Bjelde 
Hans    Thowsen    Ederklip 
Lars  Henricksen  Lien 

Mette    Larsdatter    Lien 
Henrich    Larsen    Lien 
Ole   Holjesen   Yttreboe 
Johanne,    Anne 


Lier 

1843 

1809 

Rollaug 

1842 

Anne 

Vos 

1837 

Anne 

Vos 

1840 

1814 

EH 

Vos 

1839 

1818 

Ingeborg 

Vos 

1843 

Anna 

Sandsvaerd 

1844 

Anna    Kirstine 

Vinje 

1842 

Bamble 

1843 

1816 

Laurdal 

1844 

Hallingdal 

1843 

Sigrid 

Moland 

1843 

1774 

Vos 

1843 

Borgilda 

Sillejord 

1844 

Laurdal 

1844 

Sannikedal 

1843 

1827 

Sannikedal 

1843 

1829 

Laurdal 

1843 

Barbro 

Vinje 

1844 

Tind 

1826 

Tind 

1829 

Sillejord 

1843 

Voss 

1840 

1321 

Voss 

1844 

1820 

Urland,    Sogn 

1843 

Sillejord 

1843 

1816 

Sogndal 

1844 

Synneva 

Sillejord 

1843 

1819 

Lier 

1843 

1821 

Sogndal 

1844 

Christie  "• 

Rollaug 

1843 

Ness 

1845 

1790 

Jorand,    1787 

(Hallingdal) 

Ness 

1845 

1823 

Ness 

1845 

1826 

Hvidesoe 

1842 

Margit 

347  Later  married  Tollef  S.  Aae;  he  was  not  in  the  congregation. 

348  < '  Hans   hustrii   er   endnu   i   Norge,   men   ban    venter   hende   i 
Sommer. ' '     Added  later:    "han  er  dod.  " 

349  She  \\o.s  Christie  Monsdatter  Melaas;  is  still  living   (Stough- 
ton,  Wis.). 


320  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Ingebregt   Ingebrechtsen    Naese  Wiigs 

Prestegjaeld   1845  Johanne 

John,    Ingebrecht,    Gjertrud 

Gudve  Nielsdatter  Droksvold,    Enke,  Voss  1844 

Anders    Ellingsen    Aase  Wiigs     Preste- 

gjzeld  1845      1810 

Johannes  Jensen   N*se  Wiig  1845  EH 

Jens    Johannesen    Naese  Wiig  1845 

Sjur   Magnesen   Ssetre  Vos  1844 

Mons    Lassesen   Melaas  Sogndal  1844     1787     Martha,    1796 

Ole  Andersen  Melaas  Sogndal  1844     1812     Martha882 

Mons    1840,    Kari    1844 

Birgitte   Johnsdatter    Lien  Tind  1843 

Ingeborg   Johnsdatter    Lien  Tind  1843 

Niels  Nielsen   Giri  Naess,  Christine 

Hallingdal  1845     1817 

Niels    1841,    Mari,    1843,    Iver,    1845 

Ole   Gulliksen   Kjerre  Laurdal  1845 

Gjertrud  Olsdatter  Salabakka  Rollaug  1842     1822 

Lasse    Sjursen    Lillesand  Vig  1845     1820 

Knud   Laavesen  Aaker  Laurdal  1845     1797 

Lars   Knudsen   Aaker  Laurdal  1845     1825 

Wetle   Torjusen   Haatvedt  Laurdal  1845  Birgit 

Torjus  Vetlesen   Haatvedt  Laurdal  1845 

Aasne  Evensdatter  Rue  Laurdal  1845 

Peder    Monsen    Loven M3  Sogn  1845     1811     Johanna 

Jens    Torgersen    Tserum  Sogn  1845     1801 

Torger   1844,   Unni 

Ingeborg    Olsdatter    Kammerfos  Sanikedal  1845 

Sorine    Johannesdatter    Helle  Sanikedal  1845 

Birgith   Pedersdatter   Tverberg  Tind  1842 

Hans    Olsen   Asche  Laurdal  1845     1819 

Knud   Larsen  Bjaaland  Laurdal  1845 

Gunder   Tollefson    Qvaale  Laurdal  1845     1823 

Iver    Hansen    Nsese  Sogn  1845     1797 

Anders    Sjursen    Ovreboe  Sogn,    Lyster    1845     1799     Anne 

Ole   1834,  Andrine   1838,   Christine  1841 

Ole    Syvertsen    Skotter  Laurdal  1845     1813 

Halvor    Svennungsen    Barstrak  Drangedal  1845  Signe 

Anne    Marie    Christensdatter  Drangedal  1845 

Thor   Larsen    Skareboe  Sanikedal  1845     1830 

Britha    Hansdatter    Quamme  Vig  1845 

Ole   Vetlesen   Qualen  Laurdal  1845     1812 

Anders  Olsen  Askje  Laurdal  1845 

Stener  Halvorsen  Junnsaas  Sande  1845 


352  Martha  Monsdatter  Melaas,  b.  1818. 

353  Same  as  Per  Tredja. 


CHURCH  REGISTER 


321 


Knut    Erichsen    Rokne 
Ole    Tostensen    Gaarden 
Torbjorn    Kllefson     Skaate 
Anders    Olsen     Skolaas 
Aslak    Olsen    Midgaarden 
Anders    Evensen    TrovatTen 
Kittil    Rolleifsen    Leguam 

Rolleif 

Torgeim    Olsen    Askje 
Ole    Andersen    Droksvold 
Sjur    Colbeinsen   Droksvold 
Jacob    Thomsen    Aase 
Ole   Tnllcfsen    Quaale 
Gunder   Torgeson    Sundet 
Lars    Ellefsen    Mastrei 
Tens    Kllefsen   Mastrei 
Knud    Sorensen   Quistrud 
Gunild   Kittelsdatter   Borte,    Enke 
Clans   Gjermundsen    Traae 
Kittil    Torjusen    Borte 
Iver    Ingebrechtsen    Yttrelie 
Johannes    Olsen    Finne 
Ole    Olsen    Skrabak 
Niculs     Halvorsen     Aasen 
Anders  Johnson   Aaboe 
Kittil    Kittilsen    Stohrmyr 
Andreas    Larsen    Hollo 
Ole    Anundsen    Buina 

Anne    1846 

Iver    Kntidsen    Gildertms 
Johannes   Johannesen    Maences 
Ole   Olsen    Naese 
Aslak     Andersen     AabOe 
Ole    Pedersen    Nsese 
Erich    Evensen    Helle 
Knudt    Bendt    Nielsen    Helle 
Tollef   Olsen    Haatvedt 
Peder    Simon    Asmundsen 
Endre    Andersen    Vraae 
Lars    Davidson    Molster 
Anne    Gislesdatter    Ilamrc 
Halvor   Hansen   Dalstiel 
Thomas    Tostensen    Seim 
Margrethe   Olsdatter   Gjeldfe 
Sebjorn    Thoresen    Nore 
C)sten    Olsen    Blomhauge 
Halvor    Staalesen    Sandbsek 


Voss 

1840 

1820     Chersti< 

Tind 

1843 

Krageroe 

1845 

1814 

Laurdal 

1843 

1817 

Laurdal 

1844 

1819 

Ivaurdal 

1843 

Sande 

1844 

Liv 

Laurdal 

1845 

Vos 

1844 

Vos 

1844 

Sillejord 

1843 

Laurdal 

1845 

1816 

Moe 

1843 

Bamble 

1843 

Bamble 

1843 

Tind 

1843 

Boe 

1845 

(three 

Drangedal 

1845 

B6e 

1845 

Sogn 

1845 

Viig 

1845 

Sillejord 

1843 

1823 

Laurdal 

1845 

1826 

Hvidesoe 

1845 

B6e 

1845 

1815 

Ringsaker 

1843 

Flesberg 

1842 

Helena 

Vos 

1845 

1810 

Wiig 

1845 

Sigrid 

Wiig 

1845 

Hvidesoe 

1845 

Wiig 

1845 

Sanikedal 

1845 

1822 

Sanikedal 

1845 

Laurdal 

1845 

Sanikedal 

1845 

Hvidesoe 

1843 

Vos 

1844 

1814 

Flesberg 

1842 

1797 

Hvidesoe 

1842 

Leirdal 

1844 

1827 

Leirdal 

1845 

Rollaug 

1842 

Tind 

1843 

Laurdal 

1844 

Fraflyttet 


354  They  were  married  in   1845. 


322 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Halvor   Gulliksen    Bringa 
Peder  Torjussen   Tallakshavnen 
Tor  jus    Pedersen   Tallakshavnen 
Ole    Pederson    Tallakshavnen 
Guttorm   Torbjornsen   WHg 
Halvor   Asbjornsen   Juve 

Iviv,    Asbjorn,    EigHd,    Asmund 
Helge    Sigurdsen    Grimsrud 

Sigurd 
Aslak    Olsen    Olsnes 

Olaus 

Torbjorn    Knudsen    Rodningen 
Ole   Vendelbo   Olsen   Gjerlov 

Ole    Stephanus 
Sjur    Iversen    Romoren 
Ole   Tostensen   Aasnaes 
Knud   Danielsen   Stubberud 

Hans  Daniel  1839 
Peter   Knudsen    Stubberud 
Halvor   Jensen    Stubberud 
Aadne    Eigilsen    Ogaard 

Ole,   Torbjorn   1843 
L,ars    Pedersen    Haukelien 

Anne,   Hans,   Caroline 
Niels    Sjursen    Gilderhus 

Martha   Maria    1846 
Sigurd  Johnson   Gislov 
Ole   Nielsen    Steenhjerde 
Haege   Olsdatter  Aasnaes 
Kittil    Hansen    Strommi 
Anne  Halvorsdatter   t,imesand 
Halvor    Torjussen    Borte 
Ole   Larsen   Fimrede 
Endre    Endresen    RudI 

Maritha    1838,    Olene 
John  Torjussen  Homme 
Stephen    Olsen   Dahle 
Torsten   Olsen   Braekke 

Ole,    Ragnilda 
Knud    Olsen    Aaretuen 

Gunilda     Christine     (Urland), 
Torstein   Olson   Bjodland 

Ole,   John,    1846 
Vetle   Thronsen   Norgaarden 
Hans    Gulbrandsen    Morkvolden 


Sillejord 

1843 

Krageroe 

1845 

Krageroe 

1845 

Krageroe 

1845 

Laurdal 

1843 

Hvidesoe 

1842 

Birgith 

!,  Anne 

Tind 

1842 

Vinje 

1842 

Anne 

Krageroe 

1843 

Urland 

1844             Ragnild.      Er 

Fraflyttet 

Leganger 

1845     1824 

Brithe 

Winje 

1842 

Ingeborg 

Skauger 

1844     1798 

Martha    Maria 

Skauger 

1844     1824 

Skauger 

1843     1803 

Vinje 

1843 

Guro 

Rogen 

1843 

Bertha 

Vos 

1839 

Ragnild 

Winje 

1845 

IvCganger 

1845     1821 

Vinje 

1842 

Hvidesoe 

1843     1790 

Dagne 

Viig 

1845 

Boe 

1845     1826 

Sogndal 

1846     1810 

Vos 

1839     1796 

Jorand 

Hvidesoe 

1843 

Viig 

1845     1825 

Urland 

1845     1800 

Anne  ™ 

Leirdal 

1844     1812 

in   Urland,   Anne 

Annie    Marie, 

Ole    (Leirdal) 

Haae,  Jsederen 

1826     1803 

Guro 

Hvidesoe 

1843 

Rollaug 

1845     1805 

Ingeborg 

355  Came  to  America  in  1843. 

356  Born  1819  in  Lasrdal. 


CHURCH  REGISTER 


323 


Gabriel    Bjornson  35T 
Hellik  Helliksen  Berge 
Ole    Aslaksen    Lien 
Ole  Anundsen  Jamsgaard 
Hermand  Thomassen  Vee 


Drammen 

Flesberg 

Vinje 

Vinje 

Leirdal 


Johanne  1838,  Ingeborg  Andrea,    1843 

Ole    Olsen    Svakur  Leirdal 

Thomas    Johnsen    Landeman  Sandsvaerd 

Erik  Johannesen    i*tterlie  Urland 

Ingeborg  1831,  Lars  1833,  Anna  1858,  Haaken  1835, 

Johannes    Erikstn    Ytterlie  Urland                 1845 

Lars   Gundersen   Gjellum  Urland                1845 

Knud,    Marthe 

Thorbjorn   Olsen   Gjesme  Urland                1846 

Ingeborg,   Kari 

Ole   Olsen  Gjesme  Urland                1846 

Ole 

Jens    Bottolsen    Bergvam  Urland                 1845 

Tosten    Bottolsen    Bergvam  Urland                1845 

Ellend    Thronsen    Qvaie  Sogndal              1846 

Synneva,     Thron,     Baar,  Johannes,    Ellend,    Dorthe 


Vetle    Gundersen    Felland 

Gunder,   Else    1844 
Ole    Halvorsen    Kirkeboe 
Kittil  Torgersen  Teigseth 
Kittil    Kittilsen    Teigseth 
Gullik    Gislesen    Hamre 
Hellik    Gulliksen    Hamre 
Ole    Tollefsen    Hulfleroen 
Jorgen  Kittilsen  Strommen 
Abraham    Kittilsen    Strommen 
Anders  Helliksen  Texle 
Lars  Thorbjornsen  Gjesme 
Ole    Ingebretsen   Homstad 
Knud    Eriksen    Aaretuen 
Gullik    Halvorsen    Holtan 

Levor    1830,    Berit    1836 
Halvor   Gulliksen   Holtan 
Joseph    Johannesen    Gjellum 
Amund    Olsen    StromI 
Eigild   Eigildsen   Bredland 
Johannes    Andersen    Leidal 
Tollef    Olsen    Hulderoen 
Thosstol  Tellefsen  Hulderoen 
Anders   Sjursen  Hundere 
Iver   Knudsen   Seim 
Isak    Jacobsen    Nordboe 


Moe 


1843  1820 
1843  1821 
1843  1821 
1846  1816 

1845  1805  Ingeborg  An 
drea  b.  1813 
1845  1820 
1842  1804  Stine 

1845  1802  Martha,  1798 
Thomas,  1840. 
1829 

1811  Gjertrud,  1817 

1802  Inga 

1805  Ingeborg 

1821 

1801  Dordei 

1846  1819  Astrid  1821 


Laurdal 

1841 

1799 

Flesberg 

1846 

1805 

Berit 

Flesberg 

1846 

1829 

Flesberg 

1846 

1795 

Flesberg 

1846 

1829 

Krageroe 

1846 

1813 

Anne    1821 

Hvidesoe 

1843 

Hvidesoe 

1843 

Flesberg 

1846 

1791 

Gunhild 

Urland 

1846 

1829 

Overhalden 

1846 

1794 

Marie    1798 

Leirdal 

1846 

1796 

Christie 

1796 

Flesberg 

1846 

1791 

Anne 

Flesberg 

1846 

1823 

Leirdal 

1845 

Anna 

Vos 

1844 

1828 

Laurdal 

1845 

Vos 

1845 

1819 

Krageroe 

1843 

1781 

Helga  1777 

Krageroe 

1843 

1821 

Sogndal 

1846 

1817 

Vos 

1846 

1806 

Anna 

Moland 

357  Er  Justice  of  the  Peace. 


324 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Guri   Pedersdatter  Sogndal  1844     1831 

Niels    Olsen    Selseng  Sogndal  1846     1802 

Ole   Christiansen   Selseng  Sogndal  1846 

Britha,   Gjertrud,    Christian 

Ole   Rasmussen   Reinen  Moe 

Michel   1832,  Rasmus  1837 
Ole    Olsen    Reinen 

Knud   Saammudsen  Aae  Laurdal 
Anders  Johannesen  Tommerstigen     Vardal 


Ingeborg, 
Martha 


1802 


1846  1775  Ingeborg,  1794 


1843 
1846 


1827 
1817 


Aslaug 

Ringsaker,  1807 

Maria,  1807 

(Vardal)  Karen  Marie,  1845 
1846  1818 

Thone,    1801 


Johannes,    Olive    1836    ( Vardal) Peder     1843 

Johannes   Leiersen    Svanejord  Hvidesoe 

Ole    Bjorgosen    Oftelie  Laurdal  1846  1799 

Knud   Stephensen  Tveit  Vos  1845  1801 

Johannes  Johannesen  Vaerlie  Sogndal  1846  1816 

Marthe   Knudsen   Brxkke  Urland  1846  1813 

Peder   Larsen   Lien  Nas  i  Halld  1845 

Ole   Torjussen   Flom  Urland  1844  17^4     Anna,    1798 

Ole    1830,   Anders   1823 «" 

Niels   Nielsen   Giri  Nses  i  Halld  1846  1793 

Ole   Gulliksen   Barstad  Sillejord  1842  1791 

Vetle,    Eivind,  Halvor 

Halvor  Olsen  Gjerjord  Vinge  1843  1822 

Henrik   Halvorsen   Lien  Nses,   Halld  1846  1831 

Ole    Johnson    Holstad  Viig  1845  1810 

Britha   1831,   Ragnald  1823,  Johannes    1836,  Olive  1843 


Ingeborg,     1799 


Gjertrud,     1800 


Nicolai   Halvorsen   Paus 
Jens    Sjursen    Hundere 
Martha    Olsd.    Selseng 
Ole    Vaernsen    Skotter 
Ole  Olsen  Huset 


Hvidesoe 

Sogndal 

Sogndal 

Laurdal 

Holden 


1846 
1846 
1844 
1845 
1844 


1824 


1821 


Kirsten     Maria, 

1825 

Ole,    Karen,   Andrea  Sugar  Creek     1846  Sugar   Creek   dobt 

Ole  Olsen  Huset  Holden  1846     1790     Anna 

Gunder,  Hans,  Anders,  Aslaug  Maria,    Karen   Maria 


Christen     Tellefsen 
Tellef,  Villam 
Ole    Olsen 


Hulderoen 


Anders  Olsen  Baerstad 
Ole  Andersen  Baerstad 
Kari  Olsdatter  Dale 
Ole    Gundersen    Felland 
Simon    Monsen    Halfrund 
Torbjorn   Halvorsen 
Bjorgo    Haraldsen 
Thomas   Johnsen 


Krageroe 
Laurvig 

Drangedal 

Drangedal 

Viig 

Moe 

Viig 

Vinje 

Vinje 

Drangedal 


1846 
1844 

1846 
1846 
1845 
1846 
1845 
1845 
1845 
1846 


Karen    Maria 

Anne,    Christiania, 
1843,    fraflyttet 


1828 
1826 
1774 


358  This  is  an  error;  Anders  Flom  was  born  in  1834. 


CHURCH  REGISTER 


325 


Niels    Knudsen    Grovund 

Sogndal 

1846 

1822  er    flyttet    til 

Spring   Prairie,   Menighed 

Aanund    Monsen    Njos 

Leganger 

1846 

1808     skal   vaere   dod   i 

Milwaukee 

Britha   Samsonsdatter 

Leganger 

1846 

1810 

Unni    Lassesdatter 

Leganger 

1846 

1791 

Ole  Henriksen  Fadness 

Vos 

1846 

Synneva 

Knud  Henriksen  Brumborg 

Vos 

1846 

1813 

Anders    Sandersen 

Aal,    Halld 

1846 

1807     Aagot,    1821 

Anders    Knudsen 

Holden 

1846 

1812 

John   Henrikson  Fadness 

Voss 

1846 

Aale  Thorsen  Hagen 

Aal,    Halld 

1846 

1802     Astrid 

Anders    H.    Odegaard 

Hafsloe 

1845 

1792     Martha 

Trc-r      (                       '^ 

Tind 

1843 

1821 

i  ege    (,             •     i  > 
Halvor   Johnson   Odegaarden 

Laurdal 

1846 

1805 

Gunder   Gunderson   Felland 

Moe 

1846 

1810     Thone 

Lisbeth  Olsdatter  Huset 

Holden 

1844 

1796 

Tollef  Gunderson   Fladland 

Kittil  Thoreson  Svimbil 

Juul    Gislesen    Hamre 

Flesberg 

1842 

1805     Anne 

Gisle,   Kjersti,  Gunder 

Johannes    Ingebretscn   Gjerde 

Sogndal 

1846 

Ole   Gregoriussen   Vestendahl 

Hvidesoe 

1843 

1798 

Ole   Johnson   Bjon 

Bamble 

1846 

Claus  Johnson 

Bamble 

1846 

Jorgen   Johnson 

Bamble 

1846 

Erik    Larsen   Grov 

Hafsloe 

1845 

Anfind   Hansen   Biestol 

Viig 

1846 

1796 

Even  Anderson  Ostbergreie 

Ringsaker 

1847 

1793 

Tellef    Aslaksen    Kostvedt 

Vinje 

1843 

1820 

Gunder   Ostensen   Jordahl 

Kinservig 

1847 

Sigtrud 

Halvor  EHefson  Bradlos 

Krageroe 

1846 

1828 

Anders  EHefsen  Bradlos 

Krager6e 

1846 

1829 

Hans    Mikkelsen    Lote 

Kinservig 

1847 

1817     Britha 

Bottolf  Johannesen  Grinde 

Leganger 

1846 

1799     Marhi,    1806 

Marhi,   1833,   Peder,   1839, 

Johanne,  1834 

Aslak    Hansen    Halferdalen 

Hvidesoe 

1843 

1820 

Aslak  Knudsen  Midboe 

Vinje 

1843 

Knud    Svordesen    Rogndal 

Laurdal 

1846 

1822 

Torstein   Eriksen   Rokne 

Vos 

1845 

1824 

Iver    Nielsen 

Vos 

1845 

Gunleg  Torkilsen  Oversaker 

Laurdal 

1846 

1816 

Endre  Rasmussen  Odegaard 

Lyster 

1847 

1826 

Ole    Olsen    Loe 

Nordre  Aurdal 

1847 

1813     Ingeborg,     1808 

Ole,    1842 

Hermund  Thomassen  Aarebroe 

Leirdal 

1846 

1816 

Ole    Henriksen   Hippe 

Nordre  Aurdal 

1847 

1812     Guri    (Slidre) 

Astrid,  Marit,  Ragnhild,  Henrik 
Hans  Johnson  Dahle 


vider  ikke   hvor  han  er 


326 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Hans    Sjursen    Urlandvangen 

Osmund  Osmundsen  Kjerre 

Knud    Knudsen    Gilderhus  Vos  1845     1824 

Mikkel    Gulliksen    Erdahl  Hardanger         1847     1807     Thorbjor,     1809 

Sigrid   1832,   Ragne   1833,   Augund  1838,  Torbjor,  Gullik,  Mikkel,  Christie 
Erik    Sjursen    Fliseram 
Sylfest    Sjursen   Fliseram 
Anders   Helleksen   Lande 
Torger   Brynildsen   Morkve 
Thor  Thorbjornsen  Kingeland 
Ole  Hermansen  Alne 
Hans  Pedersen  Pladsen 
Peder   Sylfestsen  Aaberge 
Lars    Osmundsen   Juvet 
Johannes  Sjursen  Hundere 
Pernille  Johannesdatter 
Peder   Aniund   Egdetvedt 
Colbein  Torkildsen  Edgetvedt 
Ole  Gundersen 
Nicolai  Arneson  Auland 
Peder   Olsen   Brandstad 

Agnethe,   Eline,  Pauline,  Otto, 
Jens  Skaksen  Bahuus 
Tarje  Halvorson  Morkve 
Erik  Thorsen   Svenderesde.  .t 
Anders    Nielsen    Lie 

Martha  1838,  Niels  1841,  Sjur 
Svend  Larsen  Lund 
Halvor    Bjorgosen    Huverstad 
Ole  Andersen  Lande 
Gullik   Andersen   Lande 
Jacob  Jacobsen  Njos 

Kari,    1844 

Tollef    Halvorsen    Gvale 
Sjur  Johannesen  Quam 
Ingebret   Pedersen   Erdahl 
Guttorm    Johannesen    Buo 
Johannes  Larsen  Erdahl 
Hellik  Helliksen  Foslieiet 

Hellik  1833,  Anders  1835,  Mar 
Johannes  Anderson  Tommerstigen 
Kjostolf  Gunderson  Naeset 

Gunder,  Halvor,   Ole 
Peder  Halvorsen  Moe 

Halvor   Kittilsen   Naestestug 
Ole  Jorgensen  Hustvedt 
Ole  Gundersen   Brodalsgaard 
Ole  Tollefsen  Stolen 
Tollef 


Vos 

1844 

1811 

Vos 

1846 

1819 

Flesberg 

1847 

1786 

Vos 

1845 

1817 

Vinje 

1847 

1807 

Hafsloe 

1847 

1808 

Halsloe 

1847 

1819 

Hafsloe 

1847 

1819 

(Sogndal) 

Laurdal 

1846 

1798 

Inbegorg 

Sogndal 

1846 

1811 

Ringsaker 

1848 

1794 

Vos 

1846 

1798 

Vos 

1846 

1816 

Moe 

1846 

1796 

Biri 

1846 

1799 

Erika,  1847,  1807 

Martinus 

Sogndal 

1847 

1817 

Moland 

1843 

1806 

Rollaug 

1846 

1806 

Vos 

1841 

1814 

Gunvor,    1805 

1848,    Anders    1848 

Graven 

1847 

1813 

Guri 

Hvidesoe 

1844 

Flesberg 

1847 

1826 

Flesberg 

1847 

1823 

Leganger 

1846 

1818 

Mette,   1821 

Slidre 

1847 

1829 

Sogndal 

1847 

1847 

Hardanger 

1847 

1809 

Anne 

Hardanger 

1847 

1848 

Ragnhilde 

Graven 

1847 

1809 

Catarine 

Flesberg 

1842 

1812 

Sigrid 

t   1838,   Ch 

ristoffer 

1841,  Christine,     Sigrid 

Ringsaker 

Holden 

1844 

1808 

Marie 

Gjerpen 

1843 

1821 

Mari     (Holdon 

kom,    1844) 

Sillejord 

1847 

1822 

Omlie 

1846 

1823 

Aal 

1847 

1801 

Herroe 

1847 

Martine 

CHURCH  REGISTER 


327 


Gunhild    Saamundsdatter 
Hermund    Olsen   Offerdal 

Ole,  Anders 
Simon    Atlesen   Gjellum 
John    Olson    Herjedahl 
Ole  Johnson   Herjedahl 
Svend   Amundsen    Sinnes 
Tarald    Nielsen 
Gunder   Torgesen   Lie 
Anders    Sjursen    Gilderhus 
Gregor  Halvorsen   Eddingsaas 
John    Olsen    Eide 
Sjur    Storksen  Reque 
Zacharias    Iversen 

Johanne,    Ivar 
Magne   Nielsen   Naested 
Tallef    Gjermundsen    Gulsteen 
Niels    Olsen    Selseng 
Thoe   Levorsen   Svartedal 
Niels    Larsen    Skjaerve 
Bottolf    Olsen    Livbroen 
Johannes  Jacobsen   Hovden 
Jarrand    Olsdatter    Skrae 
Hans   Amundsen   Helland 
Helge    Sjursen    Sjetre 
Halvor    Halvorsen    Strand 
Tarje    Tollefsen    Felland 
Amund   Larsen   Felland 
Niels    Hermansen   Nsese 
Bernt  Mathias  Taamsen 
Ole    Olson    Tveten 
Anders   Ellingsen   Quale 
Ole    Siversen    Kilen 
Niels  Bjornson   Farastad 
Ole   Johannesen    Skauhovd 
Ole  Torkildsen   Lislerud 
Amund   Amundsen   Braata 
Ole  Nerisen  Kjaere 
Thron   Olsen    Lindevigen 
Odd    Sjursen  Naatvedt 
Knud    Olsen    Unneland 
Olaf    Laavesen    Bergland 
Inga    Olsdatter 
Mikkel    Larsen   Hole 
Michael    Johannesen 
Kari  Gulliksdatter  Lande,  Enke 
Halvor    Halvorsen    Strand 
Ole    Larsen    Quammen 
Aslak    Olsen    Sandager 


Laurdal 

1842 

1798 

Leirdal 

1846 

1819 

Kristi, 

1814 

Urland 

1845 

1825 

Britha 

Haug 

1847 

1802 

Haug 

1847 

Hvidesoe 

1848 

1803 

Dagne, 

1812 

Drangdal 

1846 

1825 

Hvidesoe 

1846 

1808 

Vos 

1843 

1798 

Jaarand 

Sillejord 

1847 

1822 

Evindsvig 

1848 

1814 

Vos 

1845 

1809 

Leganger 

1848 

1817 

Kari 

Vos 

1848 

1811 

Aal 

1847 

1816 

Sogndal 

1848 

1781 

Ingborg 

,    1792 

Vinje 

1848 

1818 

Vos 

1843 

1813 

Vos 

1848 

1797 

Britha, 

1797 

Vinje 

1847 

1795 

Margit 

Moland 

1846 

1795 

Rennesoe 

1848 

1826 

Vos 

1848 

1779 

Aurdal 

1848 

1779 

Moe 

1846 

1818 

Moe 

1846 

1827 

Viig 

1846 

1825 

Herroe 

1848 

1821 

Vinje 

1845 

1820 

Sogndal 

1848 

1804 

Christi 

Moe 

1848 

1812 

Vinje   3 

Vinje 

1845 

1813 

5 

Vardal 

1848 

1817 

4 

1842 

2 

Flesberg 

1847 

1 

Laurdal 

1848 

5    plus    2 

Laurdal 

1848 

3 

Vos 

1845 

1817 

6 

Vos 

1845 

1809 

5 

Laurdal 

1848 

4 

Vos 

1843 

4 

Vos 

1846 

2 

Rollaug 

1848 

2 

Flesberg 

1847 

1 

Valders 

1849 

Hardanger 

1847 

1814 

3 

Hvidesoe 

1848 

328 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Lars  Johannesen  Quammen 

Hardanger 

1848     1823 

2 

John  Engbretsen  Londe 

Soldal 

1848     1825 

2 

Herge  Aadren  Brumberg 

Vos 

1848     1786 

2 

Syvert   Olsen   Berge 

Laurdal 

1848 

2 

Aslak   Endresen  Quammen 

Hardanger 

1847     1805 

6 

Gunder  Halvorsen  Bjornstad 

Moland 

1846     1807 

3 

Aurdal 

2 

Knud  Knudsen  Bjelde 

Urland 

1847     1818 

5 

Bendik  Andersen  Haave 

Leganger 

2 

Anders  Nicolaison  Mastad 

Vos 

1848     1801 

6 

Helge   Olsen   Botnen 

Soldal 

1848     1786 

2 

Anand  Bjornson 

Biroen 

1848 

Jacob   Ingebretsen  Gjerdene 

Sogndal 

1844     1803 

Ole  Torkildsen  Krogen 

Lyster 

1847 

4 

Rasmus  Nielsen 

Sorov    i 

Danmark 

1847      1805 

5 

f 

Holden 

1841 

1 

Knud  Bendiksen  Nordstrand 

Aurdal 

1848     1824 

3 

Colbein  Olsen  Saue 

Vos 

1837     1805 

Anna, 

1800 

Hans   Olsen    Kjorn 

Rollaug 

1848     1787 

Jaarand,    1797 

Christian    Tarjesen 

Tnomoe 

1849 

2 

Flesberg 

1 

Tarje    Aslaksen    Groven 

Moland 

1846 

Gunder    Osmundsen    Brudal 

Moland 

1848 

5 

Kari 

Turi,  Margit,  Osmund,  Eivind 

Kittil  Olsen   Solberg 

Hvidesoe 

1849 

Knud   Olsen   Hostvedt 

Hvidesoe 

1846 

Abraham   Jacobsen    Ongnevig 

Lyngdal 

1849     1806 

7 

Boe 

2 

Stork    Tarjesen    Gjierum 

Vos 

1848 

Iver  Gulbrandsen   Ringsted 

Slidre 

1849     1812 

7 

Hvidesoe 

1 

John    Sjursen   Bjorgan 

Vos 

1849     1798 

6 

Sjur  Johnson   Bjorgan 

Vos 

1849 

3 

Erik   Mikkelsen   Moland 

Vos 

1845 

5 

Kirstine  Andersdatter  Sherping,  EnkeUrland 

1849     1824 

3 

Sondre    Eivindsen   Groven 

Sillejord 

1848     1804 

5 

Ole  Halvorson  Odegaard 

Hjerdal    1848 

(Siljord)    1823     3 

Gunhild 

Aamund   Mikkelsen   Sanden 

Hvidesoe 

1848 

3 

Tollef   Halvorsen    Stornslie 

Moe 

1849 

Halvor    Mathesen    Prsestholdt 

Moe 

1846 

Laurdal 

1 

Nicolai    Mikkelsen    Erdahl 

Graven 

1847 

Gunder  Gundersen  Hvideklev 

Hvidesoe 

1845 

Moe 

1 

Elling  Andersen  Qualen 

Sogndal 

Ole   Nielsen   Selseng 

Sogndal 

4 

Jens    Pedersen    Tyvang 

Krageroe 

1843 

Audi 

Peder  Knudsen  Rodningen 

Krageroe 

1843 

CHURCH  REGISTER 


329 


Osmund  Nerisen  Tveten 
Peder    Povelsen    Schogen 

Martha    Svendad   Legreid 
Johannes    Halvorsen 
Peder  Nielsen   Steengjerde 
Torger   Endresen   Groe 
Lars    Bergessen   Tillung 
Thor  Eriksen  Valle 
Christen  Tellefsen   Ulleroen 
Christian   Hermansen 
Ole   Christiansen   Teigen 
Jacob   Jacobsen    Njos 
Gjermund    Aslaksen    Dalen 
Niels  Torjusen  Grotherud 
Ole    Kielsen    Nseset 
Christen   Olsen   Saghougen 
Amund   Ammdsen    Braata 
Tolard    Amundsen 
Ole    Olsen    Stuen 
Andres    Ellingsen   Aasen 
Ole    Monson    Stop 
Ole    Farn.TS 
Anfind    Anundsen 
Knud    Toresen    Nore 
Clemet    Larsen    Stalsbraaten 
Atle   Simonsen  Gjellum 


Hans  Knudsen   Ramsoe 

Tosten    Eriksen    Ramsoe 

Ommund    Ashjornson    Stengjen  SM 

Knud   Knudsen    Rio 

Halvor   Brynildsen   Lonne 

Even    Knudsen   Raabeli 

Thorbjorn    Guttomsen    Viig 

Ole    Gundersen 

Helge    Andersen   Kirkebye 

Ole   Olsen    Haugan 

Ommund   Larsen  Quammen 

Johannes  Johannsen  Henjom 

John    Thorsen    Lie 

Thor    Rollefsen 

Peder    Ulrik    Berntsen 

Johannes  Larsen  Hedemarken 

? 

Anders    Andersen    Grimeland 


Vinje 

1845 

Gran 

1849 

Slidre 

1 

Hardanger 

1849 

Sandsvaerd 

3 

Leganger 

1847 

2 

Vos 

1846     1816 

2 

Vos 

1847     1819 

2 

Bamble 

1849     1830 

Bamble 

Hafslo 

1837     1816 

Leganger 

2 

Moe 

1849 

Flesberg 

1849 

3 

Winje 

1843  47  Aar 

2 

Gusdal 

1849  45  Aar 

Gertrud 

Flesberg 

1850  53  Aar 

4 

Vinje 

1850 

Viig,    Sogn 

1845 

Sigrid 

2 

Vos 

1845  53  Aar 

3 

Rollaug 

1842  26  Aar 

har 

varet    medlemmer 

Urland 

1849  44  Aar 

3   datter    Kari 

gift   med 

Jo- 

hannes   E. 

Lie 

Aadsland 

1849  46  Aar 

Aadsland 

1849  59  Aar 

Sogndal 

1849  34  Aar 

2 

Vos 

1844  60  Aar 

2 

Vos 

1849  62  Aar 

3 

Slidre 

1848  27  Aar 

Sillejord 

1843 

3 

Moland 

1850 

Hvidesoe 

1849 

Sillejord 

1842  30  Aar 

2 

Graven(Hard)1847  47  Aar 

2 

Sogn 

1850  43  Aar 

(Systrand) 

2 

Hvidesoe 

1850  42  Aar 

2 

Hvidesoe 

1850  69  Aar 

Aa 

1849  49  Aar 

10 

Ringsager 

1839  28  Aar 

4 

Ringsager 

5 

Omblie 

1849  37  Aar 

359Stenhjem? 


330 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Isak    Olsen    Suftestad 

Nissedal 

1850  28  Aar 

4 

Iver  Nielsen   Evanger 

Vos 

1845  37  Aar 

2 

Niels   Olsen   Anskjaer 

Vos 

1850  32  Aar 

7 

Torgrein   Knudsen   Tvedtene 

Nissedal 

1850  23  Aar 

Vilhelm  Jorgensen  Hegland 

Krageroe 

1850 

3 

Simon  Atlesen  Gjellum 

Urland 

1845  26  Aar 

2 

Eigild    Eigildsen    Breiland 

Laurdal 

1845 

2 

Lars  Josephsen  Lie 

Vos 

1850  29  Aar 

2 

Even    Halvorsen    Leifstad 

Moe 

1846  28  Aar 

Vos 

3 

Anders    Torgersen    Liinaas 

Flesberg 

1849  38*/2  Aar 

6 

Nicolay   Nielsen   Tvete 

Graven 

1850  25  Aar 

2 

Erik    Johannesen    Yttrelie 

Urland 

1845  49  Aar 

Gullik   Gislesen    Hamre 

Flesberg 

1846  55  Aar 

3 

Ole  Thoresen  Nore 

Nummdal 

1842  25  Aar 

3  plus 

Niels    Halvorsen    Langemoe 

Sannikedal 

1850  58  Aar 

4 

Peder  Johansen  Klungehelt 

Naes,  Hedemarken 

1849  58  Aar 

5 

f            Flaaberg 

1849 

2 

Knud  Arnesen  Tvedt 

Kindservig 

185025  Aar 

Iver   Pedersen    Skaar 

Graven 

1850  23  Aar 

Lysten 

Anfind    Stryksen   Leidal 

Enke.    Karen    Halvorsdatter 

Solum 

1850  50  Aar 

6 

Jens  Brottolfen  Berggvam 

Urland 

1845  30  Aar 

4 

Lars    Hovelsen    Bovre 
Jens  Johannesen  Naese 


Den  28nde  Mai,    1850. 


Hvidesoe 
Bier 
Wiig 
Ringsaker 


1850  43  Aar 
1845  23  Aar 


2012 

J.    W.    C.    DlETRICHSON. 


*  It  will  have  been  observed  that  it  has  been  impossible  to  make 
out  some  of  the  names,  the  last  part  of  the  Register  having  been  writ 
ten  in  a  very  illegible  hand. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

The  Founding  of  the  Norwegian  Settlements  of  Nor- 

ivay  Grove,  Spring  Prairie  and  Bonnet 

Prairie  in  Dane  and  Columbia 

Counties,  Wisconsin 

In  the  extreme  northern  part  of  Dane  County  in 
the  Towns  of  Vienna,  Windsor  and  Bristol,  a  large 
number  of  Norwegian  immigrants,  principally  from 
Sogn,  settled  in  1846-1848,  forming  the  nucleus  of 
what  in  a  few  years  came  to  be  one  of  the  most  pros 
perous  settlements  in  Southern  Wisconsin.  The  first 
Norwegian  in  this  section  was  Svennung  Nikkulson 
Dahle,  who  came  from  Flatdal  in  Telemarken  in  1 844 
to  Koshkonong,  and  the  next  year  purchased  land 
and  settled  near  Norway  Grove  in  the  Town  of  Vi 
enna.  He  was  then  only  eighteen  years  old.  36° 
Nearly  all  who  came  later  were  from  Sogn,  and 
Dahle  was  and  remained  the  only  native  of  Tele 
marken  in  Vienna.  In  1846  Erik  Engesaeter,  from  Lei- 
kanger,  Sogn,  with  family,  including  a  son  John, 
settled  there.  In  1847  Ole  H.  Farness  (b.  1826)  and 
wife  Gertrude  came  from  Sogn,  Norway,  to  Norway 
Grove.  Erik  C.  Farness361  (b.  1828)  also  came  the 

360  About  1858  he  married  Maline  oien   (b.  in  Aardal,  Sogn,  in 
1835).     Svennung  Dahle  died  in  1872,  the  owner  of  400  acres  of  land. 

361  He  was  married  to  Ingeborg  Grinde  in  1851,  Eev.  A.  C.  Preus 
performing    the    ceremony.     Ingeborg    was    the    daughter    of    Botolf 
Grinde  who  came  from  Sogn  in  1846  and  settled  on  Liberty  Prairie. 


332  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

same  year.  These  men  both  acquired  large  farms 
there  in  the  course  of  time,  Ole  Farness  owning  530 
acres.  Arne  Boyum  and  family,  five  in  all,  from 
Outer  Sogn,  came  in  1848  as  did  Knut  K.  Naas  (b. 
1810),  with  wife  Alau  and  family  of  four  children 
from  Kragero. 362 

The  first  Norwegian  to  buy  land  in  Windsor 
Township  was  Ingebrigt  Larson  Tygum,  from  Sy- 
strand,  Sogn,  who  immigrated  in  1844,  lived  one 
year  in  Muskego,  then  came  to  Windsor  in  1845.  For 
two  years  he  seems  to  have  been  the  only  Norwegian 
in  the  Town. 363  In  1852  Tygum  sold  his  farm  in 
Windsor  and  moved  into  Vienna  Township,  buying 
the  farm  at  present  occupied  by  the  son  Lars  (b. 
1849).  In  1847  the  following  settled  in  Windsor 
Township:  Stephen  Holum  and  family,  who  had 
immigrated  in  1845  and  lived  two  years  at  Rock 
Prairie,  Sjur  Grinde  and  family,  and  Truls  E.  Far- 
ness  and  wife.364  These  families  are  intimately  con 
nected  with  the  history  of  the  Village  of  De  Forest. 
A  son  of  S.  Holum,  namely  Ole  S.  Holum  (b.  1847), 
lives  on  204  acres  of  land  adjoining  the  village.  Ole 
Holum  is  a  prominent  democrat  and  has  held  various 
offices  of  trust,  being  e.  g.  Register  of  Deeds  in  1877- 
78. 36S  In  1848  several  families  moved  in,  among 


362  Two  sons,  Thomas  and  Isak,  went  to  the  War  in  1860.   Thomas 
was  killed  in   the  Battle  of   Antietam,   September   17,    1862.     Knut 
Naas  died  in  1868;  his  wife  in  1887. 

363  Larson  married  Brita   (Dale)   widow  of  Jon  Eiken  on  Bock 
Prairie  in  1847;  she  died  in  1902,  aged  89. 

364  Farness  came  from  Balestraml  Parish. 


FOUNDING  OF  NORWEGIAN  SETTLEMENTS    333 

them  Lars  Eggum,  Ole  Haukness  and  family  (ten 
in  all),  and  Sjur  S.  Vangness  and  family.  Vangness 
had  immigrated  in  1844,  first  settled  in  Rock  County, 
then  came  to  De  Forest  in  1848.  He  died  there  in 
1878.  The  family  included  a  son,  Sjur  S.  Yangness 
(b.  1816  at  Vangsness  in  Sogn),  whom  we  meet  with 
later  as  a  man  of  much  influence  in  the  township; 
he  owned  264  acres  of  land  near  De  Forest. 366 

In  Bristol  Township  three  families  settled  as 
early  as  1846;  namely  that  of  Botolf  E.  Bergum  (b. 
1816),  who  came  there  in  the  fall  of  1846,  and  contin 
ued  to  reside  there  until  his  death  in  1904  (his  wife 
died  in  1903;  after  a  wedded  life  of  fifty-four 
years),367  Sjur  Johnson  and  wife  Ingeborg  and  one 
son,  and  Erik  Larson  and  wife  and  several  children. 

In  1848  Hans  H.  Quamme  came  up  to  Bristol 
from  Rock  Prairie,  where  he  had  settled  in  1846, 
coming  from  Norway  that  year.  During  the  next 
three  years  so  many  immigrants  came  from  Sogn 
and  located  in  Norway  Grove  that  the  settlement 
came  to  be  called  ' '  Sogn. ' '  Among  the  many  families 
who  located  there  at  that  time,  John  Ollis  of  Madison, 

365  Farness  died  in  1885,  his  wife  died  in  1902  at  the  home  of 
her  daughter,  Mrs.   H.  T.  Lerdall,  Madison,  Wisconsin. 

366  As  I  shall  not  have  occasion  elsewhere  to  speak  of  the  Town 
ship  of  Burke  directly  south  of  Windsor,  I  may  here  say  that  the  first 
Norwegian  settlers  were  Torkel  Gullikson    (b.   1815)    and  wife  Mar- 
garete,  whom  he  had  married  in  1843 ;  they  came  to  Pleasant  Spring 
in   1844   and   moved   up   to   Burke   the   following  year.     For   several 
years  there  came  no  more  Norwegians. 

367  They  left  five  sons :    Erik,   Ellik,  Peter,  who   live  on  Spring 
Prairie,  Marcus   (Deerfield),  and  John,  who  lives  in  Cottage  Grove, 
and  one  daughter,  Mrs.  Peter  Hagen,  Spring  Prairie. 


334  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Wisconsin,  writing  in  Bygdejaevimng,  page  341, 
names:  ' ' Engesaether,  Grinde,  Fames,  Tygum,  Eg- 
gum,  Boyum,  Huseboe,  Hamre,  Ohnstad,  Slinde, 
Svaeren,  Vangsness,  Holum,  Linde,  Lidahl,  Thorsnes, 
Fosse,  Rendahl,  Ethun,  Vigdahl,  Ulvestad,  Boisum, 
Svalem,  Fjerstad,  Henjum,  Jerde,  Haukeness,"  be 
sides  all  who  were  called  Olson,  Larson,  Nilson,  An 
derson,  Peterson,  Johnson,  etc. 

About  ten  miles  northwest  of  Norway  Grove, 
at  Lodi  in  Columbia  County,  a  smaller  settlement  of 
immigrants  from  Hardanger  takes  its  beginning  in 
1847-48;  although  one  family  had  settled  there  as 
early  as  1844.  In  that  year  Peder  L.  Odvin  (b.  1819) 
and  wife  Kathrine  Spaanem,  from  Ulvik  in  Har 
danger,  emigrated  to  America  and  went  direct  to 
Lodi.  Ten  years  later  they  moved  to  Springdale 
in  Dane  County.368  In  1847  Peder  Froland  ( see  page 
336)  and  Ole  Jone,  both  from  Hardanger,  became  the 
founders  of  the  Hardanger  Settlement  there.  In 
1846  Ammund  Himle  and  family  from  Voss  immi 
grated  and  settled  near  Lodi,  but  below  the  Dane 
County  line. 

The  origin  of  the  Spring  Prairie  Settlement  in 
Columbia  County,  the  northern  extremity  of  which 
is  more  specifically  called  Bonnet  Prairie,  dates  back 
to  1845.  In  that  year  four  men  settled  about  the 
same  time  on  Spring  Prairie,  namely:  Odd  Himle 

368  Peder  5dvin  and  wife  returned  to  Norway  in  1893  to  spend 
their  declining  days  at  Hardanger;  Mrs.  Odvin  died  there  in  1895. 
In  1902  the  son,  L.  P.  5dvin,  visited  his  father  in  Norway  and  brought 
him  back  to  his  home  in  Verona,  Dane  County,  where  he  died  in  1903. 


FOUNDING  OF  NORWEGIAN  SETTLEMENTS    335 

and  Sjur  S.  Eeque  from  Voss,  Anders  Langeteig 
from  Yik  in  Sogn,  and  Knud  Langeland  from  Racine 
County.  The  three  first  of  these  had  families. 
Eeque  moved  away  again  four  years  later,  settling 
on  Liberty  Prairie,  not  far  from  Deerfield.  Lange 
land,  as  we  have  recited  above,  was  already  in  1848 
back  in  Racine  County  as  one  of  the  founders  of 
Nordlyset,  the  first  Norwegian  newspaper  published 
in  this  country;  but  Himle  and  Langeteig  became 
permanent  settlers. 

In  his  book  Nordmaendene  i  Amerika  Langeland 
gives  a  circumstantial  account  of  his  coming  to 
Spring  Prairie.  He  says  that  in  August  of  1845 
he  and  Niels  Torstensen,  equipping  themselves 
with  a  cook  stove,  provisions,  bedding,  and  all  the 
necessities  for  camping  out,  drove  with  oxen  and  a 
wagon  from  Racine  via  Koshkonong,  following 
the  regular  road  to  Madison  (presumably  going  by 
West  Koshkonong  Church).  But  Madison  did  not 
attract  them.  He  says:  "Madison  had  nothing  re 
markable  about  it  except  its  natural  beauty  and  the 
big  Territorial  Building,  which  looked  very  impos 
ing  among  the  small  frame  houses. ' '  These  sons  of 
the  land  of  mountains  "were  scared  away  by  the 
big  hills "  where  the  University  is  now  situated,  and 
turned  east,  driving  almost  as  far  as  Fort  "Winne- 
bago,  where  Amund  Rosseland,  a  friend  of  Lange 
land  's,  from  Norway,  had  recently  settled.  Not  find 
ing  the  marshes  here  very  inviting,  and  failing  to 
meet  Rosseland  at  home,  they  decided  to  turn  back. 


336  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Camping  out  over  night,  they  drove  back  twenty 
miles  the  next  day ;  then  upon  the  advice  of  an  Amer 
ican  by  the  name  of  Young,  they  turned  east,  and 
driving  on  a  few  miles,  came  upon  an  American  by 
the  name  of  Gilbert,  who  was  just  engaged  in  erect 
ing  his  log  hut.  The  prairie  here  was  to  their  lik 
ing  and  they  selected  a  site  and  in  due  time  entered 
a  claim  on  land. 

Langeland  says  there  came  no  other  Norwegians 
there  that  fall,  but  as  we  have  seen,  three  others  did 
locate  in  other  parts  of  the  prairie,  about  the  time 
Langeland  came  there.  That  same  fall  Langeland 
went  to  Milwaukee  to  take  out  pre-emption  papers 
and  he  stopped  at  Koshkonong,  and  told  his  coun 
trymen  there  of  the  beauties  of  the  prairies  to  the 
north,  and  a  little  later  he  wrote  letters  to  friends 
in  La  Salle  County,  Illinois.  Prom  Milwaukee  he 
says  he  brought  back  to  Spring  Prairie  with  him  a 
plow,  a  harrow,  and  other  farm  tools. 

In  the  spring  of  1846  Peder  Froland  369  came  up 
there  from  La  Salle  County,  bringing  with  him  two 
ox-teams  and  a  wagon  and  farm  tools,  but  he  seems 
to  have  been  the  only  one  who  came  from  La  Salle 
County;  a  number  of  settlers,  however,  came  from 
Boone  County  and  Jefferson  Prairie  to  Spring  and 
Bonnet  Prairie  in  1847-1850.  In  June,  1846,  Nor 
wegian  immigrants  began  to  come  in  hosts  from  or 
via  Koshkonong,  says  Langeland.  He  and  Froland 
plowed  about  one  hundred  acres  of  prairie  land  for 


369  Who  had  come  to  America  in  1837. 


FOUNDING  OF  NORWEGIAN  SETTLEMENTS    337 

the  newcomers  that  season.  Two  years  later  Lange- 
land  sold  his  claim  and  moved  back  to  Racine 
County. 

So  it  happened  that  also  Spring  Prairie  became 
settled  largely  from  Koshkonong,  and  as  this  was 
the  period  in  which  immigration  from  Sogn  was  tak 
ing  place  on  a  large  scale,  it  was  especially  Sognings 
who  took  possession  also  of  this  region;  though  a 
considerable  number  of  Vossings  also  gradually 
moved  in.  Reverend  L.  S.  J.  Reque  writes  me  that 
Spring  Prairie  is  today  almost  exclusively  a  Sogn- 
ing-Vossing  settlement,  and  the  former  predominate. 

The  Spring  Prairie  Settlement,  whose  begin 
nings  have  here  been  briefly  sketched,  rapidly  ex 
panded  north  to  Bonnet  Prairie,  this  part  of  it  com 
ing  to  be  known  as  the  Bonnet  Prairie  Settlement. 
The  settlement  is  located  principally  in  Otsego 
Township,  but  partly  in  Hampdon  and  surround 
ing  towns.  The  first  Norwegian  settlers  in  this 
locality  were  John  Anderson  and  Kjel  Anderson, 
who  came  in  1846,  having  immigrated  from  Saude, 
Telemarken,  that  year. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  founders  of  the 
settlement  as  submitted  to  me  by  Samuel  Sampson 
of  Rio,  Wisconsin.  Mr.  Sampson  (b.  1839)  is  the 
only  survivor  of  those  who  settled  there  at  that  time, 
being  the  son  of  Thorbjorn  Skutle.  The  year  to  the 
right  of  each  name  indicates  the  year  of  immigra 
tion  to  America.  All  except  the  last  two  settled  at 
Bonnet  Prairie  in  1846;  these  two  settled  there  in 
1848. 


338 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Name 

John  Anderson 
Kjel   Anderson 
Hans  Jorgensen  Kjosvik 
Peter  Halvorson  Valoen 
Augon   Aarness 
Leif  Johnson  Dahle 
Tollef  Olson  Hawkos 
Iver  Vangen 

Ounleik  Olson  Svalestuen 
Knut  Gunnelson  Tveten 
Even  Tostenson  Indlaeggen 
Hans  Hawkos  Aase 
Hans  Tollefson 
Johannes  Froudal 
Eilif  Olson 
Mikkel   Knutson 
Johannes  Johanneson  Gvaale 
Halvor  Shelby 
Thorbjorn  Sampson  Skutle 

Since  the  above  was  written  I  have  received 
from  Reverend  L.  S.  J.  Eeque  of  Morrisonville,  Wis 
consin,  further  facts  relative  to  the  earliest  settlers 
there.  The  earliest  records  of  the  Bonnet  Prairie 
Church  kept  by  Eeverend  A.  C.  Preus  show  that  the 
testimonial  of  emigration  was  issued  to  "Eivind 
T.  Indlseggen"  April  5, 1843,  to  "Johannes  Johanne- 
sen"  April  10th,  1843,  to  John  Anderson  and  wife 
May  3d  and  6th,  1843,  to  "Hans  Olsen  Haukaas" 
May  7th,  1843.  Also  to  "Thorbjorn  Samsonsen  and 
wife  Anna  Ellingsdatter"  May  13th,  1844.  As  it  is 
probable  that  these  emigrated  at  the  time  of  issue 
of  the  testimonial  of  emigration  the  table  should 
be  corrected  with  reference  to  these  names.  Dur 
ing  the  intervening  three  years  most  of  the  above 


Wife 

Where  from 

Anne 

Saude 

1844 

Ingebor 

Saude 

1844 

Kari 

Holden 

1847 

Kirsti 

Hoi  den 

1846 

Ingeborg 

Saude 

1843 

Liv  Marie 

Saude 

1843 

Ingebor 

Bo 

1846 

Martha 

Aurland 

1844 

Ingebor 

Saude 

1844 

Margit 

Numedal 

1844 

Guro 

Saude 

1844 

Anna 

Bo 

1846 

Helene 

Saude 

1846 

Ragnild 

Aurland 

1845 

Johanne 

Sogn 

1845 

Sogn 

1845 

Kari 

Saude 

1845 

Ingri 

Saude 

1848 

Anna 

Voss 

1848 

FOUNDING  OF  NORWEGIAN  SETTLEMENTS    339 

had  lived  in  Boone  County,  Illinois,  whither  also 
some  of  the  later  settlers  came  en  route  to  Bonnet 
Prairie.  Thorbjb'rn  Skutle  and  family  who  came 
from  Voss,  sailing  on  the  ship  Hercules,  located 
first  at  Jefferson  Prairie.  T.  Skutle  and  his  wife 
both  died  in  1897,  age  88  and  91  respectively. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 
Blue  Mounds  in  Western  Dane  County,  Wisconsin 

The  extensive  Norwegian  settlement  in  Western 
Dane  County,  ordinarily  referred  to  as  Blue  Mounds 
from  the  "blue  mounds"  in  the  township  of  that 
name,  was  founded  in  1846.  Three  families  had, 
however,  located  there  as  early  as  1844,  namely  those 
of  Thor  Aase,  Peder  Dusterud,  and  Lars  P.  Duste- 
rud.  Thor  Aase,  with  wife  Martha,  five  sons  and  two 
daughters,370  settled  on  section  ten  in  Springdale; 
they  came  from  Sogn  in  1843  and  had  lived  one  year 
at  Wiota.  Peder  Dusterud  and  wife  and  family  set 
tled  on  section  33  in  Blue  Mounds  and  the  son  Lars 
Dusterud  and  wife  located  on  section  27,  both  in  Blue 
Mounds  Township.  These  two  came  from  Eock  Eun, 
Illinois,  where  they  had  located  in  1842,  immigrating 
from  Vaegli,  Numedal.371  They  had  also  worked  for 
some  time  in  the  Dodgeville,  Wis.,  lead  mines. 

In  1846  a  company  of  eleven  persons  arrived 
from  Eacine  County ;  they  were  the  following :  Tore 
Toreson  Spaanem,  Halvor  and  Nils  H.  Grasdalen, 
John  I.  Berge  and  wife  Julia  and  one  child,  his 
sister  Mrs.  Knut  Sorenson  Kvisterud,  Tosten 
Thompson  Eue,  Ole  T.  Garden,  Ole  Kvisterud,  and 

370  The  children  were  Ivar    (b.   1818),  Lasse,  Hermund,  Talak, 
John,  Synneva,  and  Britha. 

371  Lars  Dusterud  and  wife  are  still  living  at  Mt.  Horeh. 


BLUE  MOUNDS  341 

Ole  Sjutvett.  Knut  S.  Kvisterud,  who  had  just  he- 
fore  this  gone  to  Mineral  Point  and  secured  work 
there,  came  to  Blue  Mounds  in  1848.  John  Thomp 
son  later  was  more  generally  called  "Snow-shoe 
Thompson"  from  the  fact  that  he  carried  the  U.  S. 
mail  over  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  for  twenty 
years  (1856-1876),  walking  on  skis. 

All  these  came  from  Muskego,  Wisconsin,  whith 
er  they  had  immigrated  from  Tin,  Telemarken. 
Spaanem  and  Halvor  Grasdalen  had  come  there  in 
1841,  Knut  Kvisterud  and  wife  in  1843,  and  Berge 
in  1845.  The  Rue  family  had  come  from  Norway, 
as  we  have  seen,  in  1839  (see  above  page  125).  In 
1846  the  Town  of  Primrose,  immediately  south  of 
Springdale,  also  received  its  first  Norwegian  set 
tlers,  namely,  Christian  Hendrickson,  wife  Maria 
and  three  children,  Caroline,  Henry,  and  Charles. 
He  had  emigrated  from  Lier,  Norway,  in  1842.  and 
worked  four  years  in  the  lead  mines  at  Wiota  to 
pay  his  passage  from  Norway.  Mr.  Hendrickson 
drove  from  Wiota  to  Primrose  with  oxen,  all  his  pos 
sessions  being  then  a  wagon,  a  cow,  and  seventy- 
five  cents.  He  lived  eight  years  in  the  log  hut  first 
erected  and  built  a  stone  structure  in  1855. 

The  next  arrivals  to  Blue  Mounds  were  Erik 
Solvi,  who  came  from  Sogn  in  1847,  and  lived  suc 
cessively  in  Springdale,  Vermont,  and  Blue  Mounds, 
and  Gullik  Svensrud  and  family  from  Vsegli,  Nume- 
dal,  who  had  immigrated  in  1844, 372  and  first  located 

372  The  party  with  which  they  came  left  Drammen   April  20th 
and  landed  at  Quebec  June  20th;   they  arrived  at  Rock  Prairie  on 


342  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

on  Eock  Prairie.  It  was  also  in  1847  that  the  first 
immigrant  from  Valders  arrived  in  Blue  Mounds; 
this  was  Ragnild  Fadnes  who  in  1851  married  Ever 
Halsten.  She  was  born  in  North  Aurdal  in  1826; 
as  near  as  I  am  able  to  determine  she  was  the  only 
member  of  the  family  who  came  at  the  time. 

During  1846-1847  other  localities,  Wiota,  West 
ern  Koshkonong,  Spring  Prairie  and  Norway  Grove 
had  claimed  a  considerable  portion  of  the  immi 
grants.  But  in  1848  they  began  to  come  in  in  large 
numbers  in  the  townships  of  western  Dane  County 
and  neighboring  parts  of  Iowa  County.  To  Prim 
rose  the  following  came  in  that  year:  Nils  Skogen, 
Salve  Jorgenson,  and  Nils  Einarson.  To  Perry: 
Ole  0.  Bakken  and  wife  Anne  (Bergum)  and  two 
sons  (Ole  and  Tideman)  from  Valders.  This  was 
the  first  Norwegian  family  to  locate  permanently  in 
Perry;  Bakken  bought  the  claim  of  a  "squatter" 
named  Andreas  Olson,  who  was  therefore  the  earli 
est  Norwegian  in  the  township.  Later  in  the  same 
year  came  Lars  Langemyr  from  Christiania,  Norway, 
Torger  T.  Tvedt  from  Aamli  in  Nedenaes,  Eeiar  Aar- 
hus  from  Telemarken,  Halvor  0.  Milesten  from 
Hadeland,  and  Lars  Halvorson  and  Hans  Johnson 
from  Drangedal. 

The  arrivals  of  1848  were  Ole  Barton,  wife  Inge- 
borg  and  son  Ole,  Gulbrand  Elseberg, 373  wife  Inge- 


July  4th.     The  family  included  several  children;  a  daughter  Gunhild 
(b.  1837),  married  Halvor  Halvorson  of  Mt.  Horeb  in  1856. 

373  Elseberg  not  long  afterwards  started  for  Manitowoc  to  visit 
a  brother,  who  had  just  come  there,  and  was  never  heard  from  again. 


BLUE  MOUNDS  343 

borg  and  two  daughters,  Christian  0.  Skogen,  Ole 
0.  Braaten  and  Nils  0.  Belgum;  and  in  1849:  Knud 
Larson,  Anders  Lundene,  Iver  Halstein,  Iver  Lund, 
Ole  Jelle,  Sr.,  and  Tore  Maanem,  all  of  whom  were 
from  Valders,  mostly  from  North  Aurdal.  Tollef 
S.  Anmarksrud  and  wife  Karen  came  to  Koshkonong 
the  latter  year,  but  he  also  removed  to  Blue  Mounds 
in  1850.  During  the  next  few  years  immigration 
to  the  various  townships  of  western  Dane  County 
was  rapid.  For  the  fall  of  1849  and  in  1850  are  to 
be  mentioned,  e.  g.  the  following  arrivals  in  Spring- 
dale  Township :  Harald  and  Arne  Hoff,  Ole  and  As- 
lak  Lee,  Levor  Lien,  Ole  Thompson  Brenden,  Anders, 
John  and  Knut  Lunde,  Knut  J.  Lindelien,  Harald 
Stugaard,  Michel  Kolskett  and  Erik  0.  Skinrud ;  sev 
eral  of  these  had  large  families.  To  Blue  Mounds 
Township  came:  Erik  Engen,  Ole  Boley,  wife  and 
four  children,  and  Arne  Roste,  with  family  of  eleven 
children ;  all  those  named  here  came  from  Valders. 374 
From  Sogn  came  Ole  A.  Grinde  and  Ole  Menes, 
the  latter  remaining,  however,  two  years  in  Nor 
way  Grove  before  coming  to  Blue  Mounds.  Mich 
ael  Johnson  (b.  1832  in  Leikanger,  Norway)  emi 
grated  to  America  in  1853,  located  first  in  Windsor, 
then  removed  to  Vienna,  finally  settled  permanently 
in  Springdale  in  1856.  His  parents,  Jon  Michelson 
Dahlbotten  and  wife  Eandi,  and  his  sister  Martha  375 
and  younger  brother  Botolf  came  to  America  in 

374  Boley  and  Roste  were  from  South  Aurdal. 

375  Martha  married  Ole  O.  Flom  in  1854.     Botolf  is  B.  J.  Bor- 
laug,  well-known  capitalist  and  banker  of  Kenyon,  Minnesota.     The 


344  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

1854.  Mr.  Johnson  became  a  prosperous  farmer  and 
stock-raiser,  his  farm  of  400  acres  being  one  of  the 
finest  in  that  part  of  the  state.  He  took  an  active 
part  in  church  and  school  affairs  and  was  for  many 
years  a  member  of  the  governing  body  (Kirkeraad) 
of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Evangelical  Synod 
of  America.  He  held  many  positions  of  trust  in  the 
town  and  the  county,  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Legislature  for  three  consecutive  terms,  1874-75-76, 
and  for  years  a  well-known  figure  in  the  politics  of 
the  state.  Mr.  Johnson  lived  in  Mt.  Horeb  since 
1894;  he  died  in  1908,  leaving  a  widow  and  seven 
children. 

In  Primrose  and  Perry  the  Norwegians  also  set 
tled  extensively  in  1849-1850.  Among  those  who 
arrived  in  the  former  year  were  Gunnuf  and  Ole 
Tollefsen  from  Ssetersdalen,  who  as  we  have  seen 
above,  page  281,  had  immigrated  to  Muskego  in 
1845.  Others  who  came  to  Primrose  that  year  were 
G.  and  Ole  Danielson  376  from  Telemarken,  Leif  Ol 
son,  Kittil  Moland,  Ole  Anderson  and  Peter  P.  Hasle- 
rud.  Tollefson  relates  how  he  became  the  possessor 
of  his  quarter  section  in  Primrose  as  follows : 377 

As  I  wished  to  own  land  of  my  own  as  soon  as  possible, 
I  went  to  Primrose  in  1849.  Here  I  met  Niels  Einarson. 
There  was  enough  of  land,  but  how  to  get  the  number  of 
what  I  selected,  was  the  question.  After  much  search  we 
family  had  moved  from  Aurland  to  Borlang  in  Feios,  Leikanger 
Parish,  where  the  children  were  all  born. 

376  Ole  Danielson  had  lived  in  Illinois  since  he  came  from  Norway 
in  1846. 

377  The  citation  is  from  Langeland,  page  73. 


BLUE  MOUNDS  345 

found  a  large  oak  a  short  distance  east  from  where  Norman 
Randal  lives.  On  this  tree  was  clearly  to  be  seen  the  fol 
lowing  letters  and  numbers:  N.  W.  14,  S.  23,  T.  5,  N.  R. 
6  E.  There  was  neither  pen  nor  paper  to  get  without  go 
ing  many  miles,  and  something  had  to  be  done  at  once. 
I  borrowed  an  axe  of  Emerson,  cut  down  a  little  poplar, 
and,  after  having  cut  it  flat  on  both  sides,  so  that  it  be 
came  quite  thin,  I  took  my  pocket  knife  and  cut  into  it 
the  letters  and  numbers  just  as  they  were  in  the  tree. 
With  this  poplar  stuck  under  my  arm  I  went  to  the  land- 
office  and  laid  the  stick  and  the  money  on  the  table,  to 
the  official 's  amusement.  They  understood  the  descrip 
tion  and  I  got  the  land. 378 

During  1850  came  Mrs.  Ole  Baker  with  son  P.  0. 
Baker  (b.  1838),  Mons  Ness,  Elling  Stamn,  Ole 
Skuldt  and  Lars  Halvorson  from  Hallingdal,  Knut 
and  Jens  Olson  from  Stavanger,  Lars  L.  Kolve  and 
family  from  Voss  and  Knut  Baardson  (Bowerson) 
and  family  from  Sa^tersdalen.  During  1853  to  1855 
Norwegians  came  in  still  greater  numbers,  writes 
Reverend  Hoverstad. 

About  twenty  Norwegians  settled  in  Perry  in 
1849;  they  were:  Torger  Hastvedt,  Hans  J.  Dahle, 
Ole  Gangsei  and  Jacob  Aanhus  from  Telemarken, 
Andreas  Stutelien  and  Jul  Haavernd,  wife  and  eight 
children  from  Valders,  and  Anders  Sanderson  from 
Hallingdal.  After  1849  Norwegians  came  in  in  large 
numbers,  settling  up  the  town  rapidly. 379  I  shall 

378  Tollefson  says  that  at  Clinton  he  worked  for  a  Mr.  Sherwood 
a  while;  he  cut  600  rails  for  the  loan  of  the  latter 's  oxen  and  wagon 
with  which  to  bring  his  parents  from  Muskego  to  Eock  County. 

379  Among  them  were  Knut  Grimstvedt  and  Ole  Hastvedt  from 
Telemarken. 


346  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

mention  here  only  Onon  Bjornson  Dahle  (b.  1823) 
from  Nissedal,  who  settled  in  Perry  in  1853,  and 
Christian  Evanson  (b.  1819)  from  Valders,  and  wife 
Eagnild  from  Numedal,  who  came  there  in  1854. 38° 
Dr.  Evans  tells  me  that  Eagnild  Evanson  (maiden 
name  Kagnild  Brekke)  was  born  in  Numedal,  Nor 
way,  in  1819,  and  after  her  marriage  to  Christian  Ev 
anson,  immigrated  to  America  in  company  with  her 
brother  Lars  N.  Brekke  (who  for  many  years  resid 
ed  and  conducted  a  grocery  store  in  Madison,  Wis.) 
in  the  year  1848,  preceding  her  husband  by  about 
five  years.  They  came  by  sailing  vessel,  and  were 
sixteen  weeks  on  the  voyage,  having  been  grounded 
on  a  rock  off  the  coast  of  England  and  were  obliged 
to  wait  repairs.  After  landing  in  New  York  they 
came  by  Erie  canal  and  the  lakes  to  Milwaukee, 
Wis.,  then  to  near  Stoughton,  Wis.,  and  later  to 
Madison,  where  she  met  her  husband  five  years  later. 
From  Madison  they  moved  to  Perry,  Dane  County, 
and  settled  on  section  twenty-three  and  remained 
there  until  their  death.381  0.  B.  Dahle,  who  had 
been  a  school  teacher  in  Nissedal,  left  Norway  in 
company  with  a  cousin,  Knut  Dahl,  in  1848.  They 
first  came  to  Koshkonong,  where  the  former  taught 

380  Jens  P.  Tyvand  (b.  1817)  who  had  emigrated  from  Sannikedal 
in  1843  to  Lisbon,  111.,  and  removed  to  Stoughton,  Wis.,  in  1847,  set 
tling  in  Pleasant  Spring,  located  in  Perry  in  1854. 

381  Mrs.   Evanson   died  in   1894  and  Mr.   Evanson   in   1897,  sur 
vived  by  two  children,  Anne  and   Niels    (Dr.   N.   E.   Evans  of  Mt. 
Horeb).     C.  Evanson  was  a  successful  farmer,  owning  279  acres  of 
land;  he  also  conducted  a  store  at  Perry  after  1874. 


BLUE  MOUNDS  347 

parochial  school  for  two  years.  They  went  to  Cali 
fornia  in  1850  in  search  of  gold  as  so  many  others. 
Having  been  unusually  successful  in  the  gold  mines, 
they  returned  in  1853,  and  Onon  Dahle  bought  a  farm 
in  Perry,  on  which  he  founded  the  village  of  Daley- 
ville,  beginning  at  the  same  time  there  a  mercantile 
business.  Here  he  amassed  a  fortune,  retired  and 
moved  to  Mt.  Horeb  in  1897.  In  1854  Dahle  married 
Betsey  Nelson,  daughter  of  Hermo  N.  Tufte  of  Ra 
cine  County,  and  sister  of  the  well-known  lay  evan 
gelist,  Elling  Eielson.  Mr.  Dahle  always  took  an  ac 
tive  interest  in  public  affairs  and  in  the  work  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  of  which  he  is  a  member.  He  died 
in  July,  1905,  his  wife  having  died  in  February  of 
the  same  year. 382 

We  shall  close  this  chapter  with  a  word  about 
the  first  Norwegians  in  Madison,  Wisconsin.  It  is 
not  until  1850  that  Norwegians  began  to  locate  in 
Madison  in  considerable  numbers.  However,  there 
were  a  few  there  before  that.  As  near  as  I  can  find 
out,  Ole  Torgeson,  Ole  0.  Flom,  Ole  Lenvick,  and 
Halvor  N.  Hauge,  all  of  whom  came  to  Madison  in 
1844,  were  the  first  Norwegians  in  Madison.  All 
four  of  these  worked  for  a  printer  by  the  name  of 
Daniel  Holt.  Ole  Flom,  as  we  have  seen,  had  come 
from  Norway  with  his  parents  that  summer  in  the 
first  party  that  left  Aurland,  Sogn.  He  remained  in 
Madison  till  1847  when  he  returned  to  his  father's 

382  They  left  four  children :  H.  B.  Dahle,  one  time  member  of 
Congress,  J.  T.  Dahle  (who  died  in  1908),  Henry  L.  Dahle,  all  of 
Mt.  Horeb,  and  Mrs.  James  A.  Peterson,  Minneapolis. 


348  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

farm  at  Door  Creek. 383  Halvor  Hauge  had  come 
from  Norway  with  his  parents  in  the  summer  of 
1844 ;  the  family  had  located  in  the  Town  of  Chris 
tiana.  Halvor  went  to  California  in  1848  where  he 
remained  several  years,  returning  then  to  Kosh- 
konong.  Ole  Torgerson  had  emigrated  from  Nor 
way  in  1844,  coming  directly  to  Madison,  where  he 
continued  to  live  till  his  death  in  1900.  He  published 
during  1850  there  a  Norwegian  paper  in  the  in 
terests  of  the  Whig  party,  but  as  this  was  not  a 
paying  enterprise  he  sold  his  types  to  Knut  Lange- 
land,  who  soon  after  began  the  issue  of  Maaneds- 
tidende  in  Janesville,  having  previously  published 
Nordlyset  and  Demokraten  in  Muskego.  Among 
other  Norwegians  in  Madison  in  the  early  days  were : 
Anne  Vik,  who  worked  for  Dr.  Collins  during 
1845 ; 384  in  1846  she  married  Halvor  Bjoin,  a  Kosh- 
konong  pioneer.  In  July,  1846,  Hans  Christiansen 
from  Laerdal,  Sogn,  came  to  Madison;  he,  however, 
soon  removed  to  Blooming  Grove,  where  he  located 
permanently. 38S  Halvor  Gabriel  immigrated  from 
Haugesund  in  1848,  coming  direct  to  Madison,  where 
he  continued  to  live  until  1877;  he  then  moved  to 
Sun  Prairie  and  in  1893  to  Fort  Atkinson,  where  he 
died  in  1897.  Among  the  subscribers  to  Nordlyset 
and  Demokraten,  1848-1850,  appear  the  names  of 
three  residents  of  Madison,  namely:  Eric  Ander- 

383  Flom  was  with  Dr.  Collins  during  1846. 

384  As   we   have   seen,    Knud   Langeland    and   Niels    Torstenson 
passed  through  Madison  in  1845. 

385  He  died  there  a  few  years  ago. 


BLUE  MOUNDS  349 

son, 386  Lars  Johnson,  and  William  Anderson. 
Finally,  when  the  Bethel  Congregation  was  organ 
ized  in  1855  the  following  appear  as  charter  mem 
bers:  Ole  Torgerson,  Mrs.  Ole  Torgerson,  Hans  01- 
sen,  Mr.  Erickson,  Olaf  Olson,  Haakon  Larson,  Nels 
Peterson,  Lars  Nelson,  Ole  Lawrence,  Halle  S  teens- 
land,  Eline  Hoel,  Anne  Nilson,  Ingeborg  Olson  and 
Anne  Olson.  Lars  Nelson  (Brekke)  had  come  there  in 
1848  from  Numedal,387  coming  direct  to  Madison.  Mr. 
Nelson  was  well  and  favorably  known  as  the  owner 
of  a  grocery  store  on  West  Main  Street  for  many 
years.  Of  the  other  persons  mentioned  above  only 
Haakon  Larson  and  Halle  Steensland  are  now  liv 
ing.  The  latter  has  always  held  a  prominent  place 
in  the  financial  history  of  the  capital  and  in  general 
in  the  upbuilding  of  the  city.  He  has  always  been 
a  staunch  member  of  the  Bethel  Church,  and  was 
one  of  the  leaders  in  the  organization  of  the  Nor 
wegian-American  Pioneer  Association,  of  which  he 
was  president  in  1903-05. 


386  Erik   Anderson    had    come    to    America    with    his    parents   in 
1839  and  lived  in  Chicago  till  1845  (see  p.  232).     Then  they  moved  to 
McHenry   County,   Illinois.     In   1847   Erik   went   to   Muskego,   where 
he   engaged   as    compositor   in   the    office    of   Nordlyset,   setting   the 
type  for  the  first  number.     In  1848  he  went  to  Madison  and  began 
clerking  in  a  general  store.     He  settled  as  a  farmer  in  Winneshiek 
County,  Iowa,  in  1850. 

387  See  page  346  above. 


CHAPTEE  XL 
i 

The  Hardanger  Settlement  in  Lee   and  De  Kalb 

Counties,  Illinois.    Big  Grove  in  Kendall 

County  and  Nettle  Creek  in  Grun- 

dy  County,  Illinois. 

Although  Hardanger  has  contributed  a  relative 
ly  small  proportion  of  the  American  immigrant  pop 
ulation  from  Norway,  several  of  the  earliest  ar 
rivals  were  from  that  province  and  its  sons  occupy 
today  a  prominent  place  in  Norwegian  American  his 
tory.  It  has  been  shown  above,  chapters  IX  and  X, 
that  several  members  of  the  party  who  came  in  1836, 
as  also  of  that  of  1837,  were  natives  of  Hardanger ; 
and  in  the  Chicago  colony  in  1839  we  met  with  sev 
eral  natives  of  that  province.  In  1839  a  consider 
able  number  left  Hardanger,  especially  from  Ulvik 
Parish,  as  we  learn  from  Nordmandsforbundet,  1909, 
page  175.  Among  these  were  the  brothers  Anders 
and  Johan  Vik  from  Eidfjord  in  Hardanger.  The 
two  brothers  first  went  to  Wiota,  where  they  se 
cured  work  in  the  lead  mines.  In  1844  John  Vik 
(Week)  went  to  Dodgeville,  where  he  established 
himself  as  a  shoemaker,  entering  into  partnership 
with  Johan  Lee  from  Numedal.  Later  he  went  to 
Portage  County,  Wisconsin,  where  he  prospered  and 
was  for  over  a  decade  a  dominant  power  in  the  lum 
ber  trade  of  northern  Wisconsin. 388 


THE  HARD  ANGER  SETTLEMENT  351 

Among  the  immigrants  who  had  come  from 
Hardanger,  Parish  of  Ullensvang,  in  1836,  we  men 
tioned  Ammund  Helgeson  Maakestad  above,  page  95. 
Maakestad  dropped  the  family  name  in  this  coun 
try  and  called  himself  Ommon  Hilleson.  For  a 
little  over  a  year  he  was  a  coast  sailor ;  then  he  de 
cided  to  go  west  and  secure  land  where  his  coun 
trymen  had  settled.  This  he  did,  but  not  in  the 
usual  way,  for  Hilleson  walked  the  whole  distance 
from  New  York  to  Chicago.  This  was  in  1837. 389 

From  Chicago  he  directed  his  steps  farther 
west;  he  did  not,  however,  go  to  the  settlement 
founded  several  years  before,  but  pushed  on  as  far 
as  Lee  Center  in  the  County  of  Lee.  39°  Here  he 
secured  work,  saved  some  money,  and  bought  a 
homestead  in  Bradford  Township,  and  erected  there 
on  a  sod  house.  Soon  after  he  married  Catherine 
Eeinhart,  daughter  of  a  German  pioneer,  recently 
moved  in. 

For  ten  years  Hilleson  was  the  only  Norwegian 
settler  in  the  county,  but  in  1847  there  arrived  in 
response  to  letters  from  Hilleson,  a  considerable 
party  from  Hardanger.  These  left  Sorfjorden  in 
Hardanger,  and  embarked  in  May  at  Bergen  in  the 


388  These    facts   gathered    from   an    article   by   L.    J.    Erdall   in 
Amerika  for  September  18,  1901.     The  brother,  Anders  Vik  (Andrew 
Week),  went  to  California  in  1849. 

389  As   Reverend  J.   Nordby,   Lee,   Illinois,   informs   me. 

390  Strand    relates    an    experience    which    Hilleson    had    between 
Chicago  and  Lee  Center  and  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  he 
had  intended  to  go  to  La  Salle  County. 


352  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

sailing  vessel  Juno,  which  brought  them  to  New 
York  in  a  little  over  four  weeks,  a  remarkable  record 
for  that  time.391  Mr.  T.  M.  Newton  (Torgels  Knut- 
son)  says,  when  we  came  to  Buffalo  we  met  an  old 
man  who  was  returning  to  Norway.  He  advised  us 
to  go  back  at  once,  saying  America  was  not  a  fit 
place  for  respectable  people  to  live  in,  it  was  a  place 
for  thieves  and  robbers.  The  party  consisted  of  the 
following  persons:  Lars  Larsen  Eoisetter  (Eiset- 
ter),  Lars  Olson  Espe,  Lars  Helgeson  Maakestad, 
Grjertrud  H.  Lonning,  Helge  H.  Maaketad  (who  died 
in  1854),  Ingeborg  H.  Maakestad,  Torgels  Knudson 
Maakestad,  Sjur  Sjurson  Bleie  (Ely)  and  Lars  Lar 
son  Ely.  They  were  met  at  Chicago  by  Ommon 
Hilleson;  Lars  Bly  remained  in  Chicago,  the  rest 
started  for  Lee  County,  stopping  a  short  time  at 
Norway,  La  Salle  County,  thereupon  all  but  Inge 
borg  Maakestad  drove  to  Hilleson 's  home  in  Lee 
County.392  Most  of  them  settled  in  Bradford  Town 
ship,  but  Lars  Eisetter  (born  1827  in  Ullensvang) 
bought  eighty  acres  of  land  in  Sublette  Township, 
whither  other  subsequent  immigrants  from  Hardan- 
ger  also  soon  moved.  Soon  after  arriving,  Eisetter 
and  Grjertrud  Lonning  were  married  in  the  first  house 
built  by  a  Norwegian  in  Lee  County,  at  the  home  of 
Ommon  Hilleson.  Lars  Espe  and  Lars  Eisetter 


391  T.  M.  Newton  says  the  journey  took  only  three  weeks;  others 
say,  four.     Newton  was  from  Kinservig. 

392  The  journey  was  made  with  oxen  and  lumber  wagon.     Inger 
Maakestad  remained  at  Norway  for  a  time;  she  married  Lars  Espe 
soon  after. 


THE  HARD  ANGER  SETTLEMENT     353 

were  the  first  two  of  the  party  to  build  a  log  cabin. 

Mr.  Newton  tells  that  two  young  men  came  from 
La  Salle  County  about  the  same  time  and  bought  a 
piece  of  land  in  Franklin  Grove  about  two  miles  and 
a  half  from  where  he  lived.  "They  lived  in  a  log 
cabin  on  their  place,"  he  says.  "One  night  about 
two  months  after  we  arrived,  they  were  both  mur 
dered.  The  same  day  I  had  tried  to  persuade  one 
of  them  to  stay  with  me,  but  he  felt  it  necessary  to 
be  at  home.  Their  heads  had  been  split  open  with 
an  ax.  I  then  thought  of  what  the  old  gentleman 
had  tried  to  tell  us  and  heartily  wished  myself  back 
in  Norway." 

During  the  years  1848  no  immigrants  left  Hard- 
anger  for  America,  and  Lee  County  received  no  set 
tlers  directly  from  Norway.  In  1849,  however,  thir 
ty-two  emigrated  from  Ulvik,  but  none  of  these  seem 
to  have  come  to  the  settlement.  In  1850  there  was 
one  accession,  namely,  Amrnid  Lonning,  who  came 
directly  to  his  brother-in-law,  Lars  Ri setter,  in  Sub 
lette  Township.  He  worked  in  the  harvest  the  first 
season  for  Thomas  Fessenden  for  $11.00  a  month, 
bought  a  quarter  section  in  Willow  Creek  Township 
in  1852,  being  the  first  Norwegian  to  settle  there. 
In  1857  Lars  Risetter  also  moved  into  Willow  Creek 
Township,  where  he  has  since  lived.39: 

Of  the  rest  Torgels  Maakestad,  who  adopted 
the  name  T.  M.  Newton  (Knutson),  is  still  living,  his 


393  Mrs.  Risetter  died  in  1897 ;  Mr.  Risetter  is  still  living.     His 
two  sons,  Lewis  and  Holden,  occupy  the  homestead  with  him. 


354  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

home  being  at  Grinnell,  Iowa.  Sjur  Bleien  lives  at 
the  Old  People's  Home,  Stoughton,  Wisconsin. 

In  1851  the  following  arrived  from  Ullensvang, 
Hardanger,  and  located  in  the  settlement:  Jacob 
0.  Rogde  (b.  1828),  Haaken  L.  Risetter  and  wife 
Maria  (Hildal),  Haldor  Nilsen  Hovland,  and  Agatha 
Espe,  a  sister  of  Lars  Espe.  Rogde  purchased 
eighty  acres  of  land  in  Bradford  Township  in  1854 
and  in  1855  he  married  Else  Ely  from  Hardanger, 
who  had  come  to  America  in  1854. 394  Haakon  Riset 
ter  settled  in  Ogle  County  immediately  north  of  Lee 
County.  Of  those  who  arrived  in  subsequent  years 
many  settled  across  the  county  line  in  De  Kalb 
County,  and  in  a  few  years  there  had  sprung  up  a 
thriving  and  prosperous  community.  At  present 
the  Bradford  Norwegian  Evangelical  Congregation 
of  Lee  numbers  300  adult  members.  The  center  of 
the  settlement  is  about  four  miles  south  of  Franklin 
Grove. 

Immediately  east  of  De  Kalb  and  the  northern 
part  of  La  Salle  County  lies  Kendall  County,  into 
which  extends  a  northeastern  branch  of  the  original 
Fox  River  Settlement,  located  chiefly  in  Big  Grove 
Township;  the  village  of  Newark  lies  within  Its 


394  C.  Christopher  of  Gruver,  Iowa,  who  has  kindly  given  me 
many  of  the  facts  relative  to  the  immigration  from  Hardanger, 
names  the  following  as  arriving  in  Lee  County  in  1854;  Lars  X. 
Rogde  and  wife  Augar  W.  Sandvaen,  Wigleik  W.  Risetter,  Helle 
P.  Bly  and  wife  Torbjor  (Skare),  Samson  S.  Sandveen  and  wife 
Basgga  H.  Maakestad.  The  last  three  and  Lars  Rogde  died  the 
same  year. 


THE  HABDANGER  SETTLEMENT  355 

boundaries.  The  first  Norwegian  to  settle  in  the 
village  of  Newark  was  Ole  Olson  Hetletvedt,  as  we 
have  observed  above.  Ole  Hetletvedt,  or  Medlepeint 
as  he  was  called,  was  born  in  August,  1797,  and  was, 
as  we  know,  one  of  the  members  of  the  sloop  party. 
Of  his  first  years  in  this  country  we  have  already 
spoken.  He  came  to  Newark  in  1839 ;  there  he  lived 
till  his  death  in  1854.  The  next  settlers  in  Newark 
were  Herman  Osmonson  and  Knut  "W.  Tysland,  both 
of  whom  also  located  there  in  1838. 

The  first  Norwegian  settler  at  Lisbon  was  John 
Hill  (Hidle)  from  Fjeldberg  in  Soudhordland,  Nor 
way.  He  came  to  America  in  1836, 395  going  direct  to 
La  Salle  County.  Among  the  immigrants  of  that  year 
were  also  Anders  Anderson  Aasen  and  wife  Olena 
and  family  from  Tysvar  Parish,  a  little  south  of 
Haugesund.  The  family  included  a  daughter  Su 
sanna,  (born  1822),  who  was  married  to  John  Hill 
in  1844.  The  Aasen  family  lived  in  Kendall,  New 
York,  for  two  years,  then  in  1838  moved  to  La  Salle 
County,  Illinois.  In  1839  John  Hill  located  at  Lis 
bon,  and  he  was  thus  the  first  Norwegian  to  settle 
here,  whither  a  considerable  number  later  moved.396 
About  1846  Sjur  Larson  came  there  from  Skaanevik, 
Norway;  Lars  Chelley  (Kjelle)  came  in  1847. 

The  Norwegians  did  not  begin  to  come  in  exten 
sively  to  Lisbon  before  1850.  Mrs.  Austin  Osmond, 

395  Lars  Bo  and  Michael  Bo  came  at   the  same  time. 

396  John  Hill  died  in  1S92,  but  Mrs.  Susanne  Hill  is  still  living 
with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Austin  Osmond  (b.  1845),  in  Morris.  Grundy 
County,   Illinois. 


356  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

oldest  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Hill,  who  is 
now  living  in  Morris,  Grundy  County,  tells  me  that 
she  was  the  only  Norwegian  child  in  school  at  Lis 
bon  when  she  first  began  to  attend,  but  later  there 
gradually  came  more.  At  Newark  several  Norwe 
gians  had  already  begun  to  move  on.  Goodman 
Halvorson  (b.  1821)  and  wife  Martha  Grindheim 
from  Etne  Parish  in  Sondhordland,  came  to  America 
in  1847  and  purchased  land  in  Fox  Township,  Ken 
dall  County ;  he  erected  his  log  cabin  there  in  the 
spring  of  1848.  Halvorson  is  still  living  on  the  old 
homestead  which,  however,  he  leases  to  other  parties. 
Osmund  Tutland  from  Hjelmeland  in  Ryfylke,  and 
wife  Malinda  from  Aardal  in  Eyfylle  and  two  child 
ren  had  come  to  Mission  Township,  La  Salle  County, 
in  1836;  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Anna  Heggiund  (b.  1842) 
is  at  present  living  in  Newark.  Tutland  became,  in 
1854,  the  founder  of  the  Norwegian  colony  at  Nor 
way,  Benton  County,  Iowa.397 

Among  the  old  pioneers  of  Lisbon  was  also 
Henry  Munson  from  Voss,  but  I  am  not  able  to  give 
the  year  of  his  arrival.  Munson  died  in  1907, 
being  over  ninety  years  old.  Wier  Sjurson  Weeks 
(born  in  Skaanevik  in  1812),  and  wife  Synneva  and 
two  children  emigrated  in  1846;  after  much  hard 
ship,  and  sickness  in  the  family,  through  which  they 
lost  the  two  daughters,  they  arrived  at  Lisbon  late 
in  1846.  Here  Weeks  worked  at  first  at  the  trade 

397  Lars  Fruland  of  Newark  is  a  son  of  Nils  Froland,  who 
emigrated  from  Samnanger,  near  Bergen,  in  1837,  settling  in  La 
Salle  County. 


THE  HARDANGER  SETTLEMENT  357 

of  a  carpenter.  In  1848  he  bought  eighty  acres 
of  land  on  North  Prairie,  five  miles  north  of  Lis 
bon.398  Here  he  settled  permanently,  prospered, 
and  became  an  influential  citizen  and  active  member 
of  the  Lutheran  Church  of  North  Prairie.  Mr. 
Weeks  died  in  February,  1900,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
seven;  his  wife  lived  till  1904,  reaching  the  age  of 
ninety-four.  A  name  most  closely  associated  with 
the  early  annals  of  Newark  is  that  of  Torris  John 
son  (b.  in  Skaanevik  1837),  who  came  to  America 
with  his  grandfather  Torris  Torison  in  1848. 3" 
Having  arrived  at  Chicago,  they  went  to  Calumet, 
twenty  miles  south  of  Chicago,  to  Halstein  Torison, 
who  was  an  uncle  of  Torris  Johnson.  There  John 
son  remained  till  1851,  when  he  located  in  Kendall 
County.  Mr.  Johnson  served  in  the  war,  being 
promoted  to  sergeant;  after  the  war  he  returned  to 
Newark.  In  1865  he  married  Elizabeth  Ryerson, 
bom  in  Stavanger,  Norway ;  they  have  had  six  child 
ren.  Mr.  Johnson  is  still  living,  his  home  being  in 
Newark. 

Although  E.  S.  Holland  (b.  1834)  of  Big  Grove 
Township,  did  not  settle  in  Kendall  County  before 
1866,  he  belongs  to  the  earlier  pioneers  now  resident 
there,  having  come  to  this  country  with  his  parents 
in  1846.  In  1854  he  settled  in  York  Township, 
Green  County,  "Wisconsin,  where  he  married  Jo- 
hanne  Chantland  the  following  year.  In  1866  they 

398  Mr.  Strand  has  given  a  very  complete  sketch  of  W.  S.  Weeks 
to  which  I  am  indebted  for  these  facts. 

399  His  parents  died  in  Norway  when  he  was  a  child;  a  brother 
and  sister  also  came  to  America  at  the  same  time. 


358  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

removed  to  Kendall  County,  Illinois.400  Mr.  Hol 
land  has  been  especially  active  in  the  work  of  the 
church,  and  has  been  trustee  and  treasurer  of  Pleas 
ant  View  Luther  College  since  its  organization. 

The  name  of  Nels  0.  Cassem  occupies  a  prom 
inent  place  in  the  history  of  the  settlement  as  of 
that  of  Kendall  County  in  general.  Born  in  1829 
about  seven  miles  east  of  the  city  of  Stavanger, 
Norway,  he  emigrated  in  1849.  Coming  to  Illinois  he 
settled  in  Fox  Township,  Kendall  County,  in  July 
of  that  year.  Here  he  purchased  land  and  began 
farming,  an  occupation  which  he  prospered  in  to 
an  unusual  degree,  his  estate  being  estimated  at  a 
little  over  one  million  dollars  upon  his  death  in 
1904.401  < '  When  he  came  to  Illinois, ' '  writes  his  son, 
"he  found  work  on  the  tow-path  of  the  old  Illinois 
and  Michigan  Canal,  at  fifty  cents  per  day.  During 
this  time  he  formed  the  habit  of  saving,  that  was 
the  unerring  guide  of  all  his  future  life."  Randall 
Cassem  defines  the  principal  causes  of  his  father 's 
success  as: 

'  *  Health ;  industrious  habits  formed  in  youth ;  the  fact 
that  money  came  hard  earned  at  first,  thus  teaching  him 
the  value  of  the  dollar ;  courage  and  self-reliance ;  knowing 


400  Mrs.  Holland  died  in  1884  and  Mr.  Holland  married  Christina 
Peterson  of  Skien,  Norway,  in  1885. 

401  Cassein  married  Margaret  Fritz  in  1851;   she  died  in   1872. 
There  are  five  children:     Randall  Cassem,  attorney  at  Aurora,  111.; 
Mrs.  Olive  J.  Osmondson  of  Seward  Township,  Kendall  County ;  Oscar 
E.   Cassem,   Mitchell,  South   Dakota;   Mrs.   Margaret   Olson,   Aurora, 
Illinois;   and  Mrs.  Anna  O.  Rood,  Chicago,  Illinois. 


THE  HARDAXGER  SETTLEMENT  359 

the  value  of  little  thing's:  the  practice  of  self-denial  and 
rigid  economy :  never  striving  after  extravagant  prolits  in 
any  of  his  undertakings.  To  all  of  this  we  may  add.  his 
high  sense  of  honor,  his  unimpeachable  integrity  that,  as 
those  who  knew  him  testify,  never  permitted  him  to  be  other 
than  absolutely  fair  and  just  in  all  his  dealinsrs  and  finan 
cial  transactions  with  others."  ^*°:) 

Among  those  who  immigrated  in  1844  and 
located  in  Chicago  was  also  Anders  K.  Vetti 
from  Yettigja?ld,  Norway.  He  lived  in  Chicago 
until  about  1849, 4'?3  when  he  bought  a  farm  at 
Yorkville  Prairie  in  Kendall  County.  He  mar 
ried  Anna  Martha  Ortzland  in  1850  and  lived 
there  till  his  death  in  1875.  Mr.  Vetti  was  a 
man  of  strong  character  and  unusual  intellectual 
endowments.  He  wielded  much  influence  politically 
in  his  community,  and  enjoyed  in  a  high  degree  the 
confidence  of  those  who  knew  him.  An  obituary 
notice  says  of  him:  his  truest  and  most  enduring 
monument  will  be  the  good  resulting  from  his  labor 
in  the  cause  of  universal  education,  in  untiring  op 
position  to  the  superstitious  observance  of  cere 
monies  incompatible  with  the  spirit  and  the  progress 
of  the  age.  and  in  his  hatred  of  all  forms  of  political 
oppression.404 


404  The  words  "universal  education"  contain  a  reference  to  his 
fight  for  the  common  schools. 

402  Kari  Melhus  of  Newark.  Illinois,  who  came  to  America  about 
1S52.  is  said  to   be   the   oldest    Norwegian   woman  in  America,     She 
WHS  born  in  Hjelmeland  Parish.  Ryfylke,  in   1S04. 

403  A.  K.  Vetti 's  oldest  daughter.  Mrs.  Samuel  Mather   (b.  1S53) 
of  Springdale.  Linn  County.  Iowa,  says  that  it  was  in  1849.  or  1850 
perhaps,   but   ahe  is  not  certain   which. 


360  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

A  few  miles  south  of  Lisbon,  across  the  Grundy 
County  line,  a  settlement  was  founded  in  1846.  The 
county  had  been  completely  settled  by  Americans 
already,  but  Norwegians  bought  these  out  and  grad 
ually  supplanted  them,  exactly  as  they  began  doing 
a  decade  later  at  Saratoga  in  Grundy  County,  and 
have  done  still  later  in  the  city  of  Morris  in  the 
same  county.  The  settlement  is  located  in  Nettle 
Creek  Township.  The  first  arrivals  were  Rasmus 
Scheldal,  Ole  Torstal,  Paul  Thompson,  Michael 
Erickson,  Simon  Frye,  John  Wing,  Lars  Scheldal, 
Ben  Hall,  Ben  Thornton,  John  Peterson,  G.  E. 
Grundstad,  William  and  Samuel  Hage.  Several  of 
these-  men  had  families;  they  came  mostly  from 
Skaanevik ;  all  came  between  1846  and  1848.  In  1849 
Halvord  Eygh,  Sr.,  and  family  of  seven,  and  Sjur 
Nelson,  wife,  Jennie,  and  family,  came  from  Norway 
and  located  there.  Several  of  these  men  later  moved 
away,  as  Paul  Thompson,  Michael  Erickson,  Easmus 
Scheldal,  and  Ole  Tvistal,  who  went  to  Story  County, 
Iowa,  while  some  members  of  the  Bygh  and  Wing 
families  went  to  Goodhue  County,  Minnesota,  1856. 
Sjur  Haugen  and  family  moved  up  to  Helmar,  Ken 
dall  County,  in  1855. 405 

With  this  brief  survey  of  the  founding  of  these 
eastern  extensions  of  the  Fox  Eiver  Settlement,  we 
shall  leave  Kendall  and  Grundy  Counties.  The  his 
tory  of  these  settlements  takes  its  beginnings  at  the 

405  The  latter  family  included  a  son  Nels  (b.  1840),  who  is  Nels 
S.  Nelson  of  Helmar,  well  known  as  a  successful  farmer  and  a 
^Republican  leader  in  Kendall  County. 


THE  HARDANGER  SETTLEMENT  361 

very  close  of  the  period  we  are  here  considering. 
Their  fuller  discussion  belongs  to  the  history  of  the 
immigration  of  the  following  decade.406 


406  Individual  settlers  and  single  families  had  located  in  various 
towns  in  northern  Illinois  during  the  later  thirties  and  forties.  I 
shall  name  here  Severt  S.  Helland  and  wife  Ingeborg  who  immi 
grated  in  1836  and  settled  at  Woodstock,  Illinois.  Helland  (b.  1828) 
came  from  Gjerdevig  in  Fjeldbjerg  Parish;  his  wife  was  born  1825 
at  Helland  in  Etne  Parish.  They  moved  to  Chicago  in  1855  and  in 
1857  settled  near  Slater,  Iowa. 


CHAPTER  XL1 

The  First  Nonvegian  Pioneers  in  Northeastern  Iowa 

In  this  chapter  I  shall  give  a  brief  account  of 
the  coming  of  Norwegians  into  northeastern  Iowa 
and  their  founding  of  settlements  there  between 
1846  and  1851.  We  are  near  the  close  of  the  period 
which  this  volume  deals  with.  The  founding  of  set 
tlements  in  Iowa  in  1849-50  is  but  a  part  of  a  larger 
movement  now  beginning,  which,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years,  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  numerous 
settlements  in  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  and  southeastern 
Minnesota:407  These  settlements  were  founded 
in  general  through  internal  migration  away  from  the 
older  settlements  in  Eacine,  Eock,  and  Dane  Coun 
ties.  The  latter  were  now  becoming  overcrowded 
and  they  furnished  hundreds  upon  hundreds  of  re 
cruits  to  the  new  settlements  that  were  fast  springing 
up.  It  is  with  the  years  1848-49  that  we  associate  this 
new  trend  in  the  movement,  and  which  inaugurates 
this  new  period  in  the  whole  movement.  Only  its  be 
ginnings  will  here  briefly  be  sketched  as  related  to 
the  counties  of  northeastern  Iowa.  Of  the  mass  of 
material  which  has  been  placed  at  my  disposal,  I  can 
only  select  what  appears  most  essential  to  the  pur 
pose. 

;  The    first    county    settled    by    Norwegians    in 

407~And   Texas. 


FIRST  NORWEGIAN  PIONEERS  363 

northeastern  Iowa  was  Clayton.  The  first  settlers 
were  Ole  H.  Valle  and  wife  and  Ole  T.  Kittelsland 
who  located  in  Read  Township  in  the  summer  of 
1846.  Both  these  men  had,  however,  entered  Iowa 
three  years  before.  In  1843  they  had  come  to  the 
old  Fort  Atkinson  in  Winneshiek  County,  and  had 
remained  there  for  three  years  in  the  service  of  the 
government.408  Valle  and  Kittelsland  were  both 
from  Rollaug,  Numedal;  they  had  immigrated  in 
1841  to  Eock  Prairie,  and  had  from  1841-1843  worked 
in  the  Dodgeville  mines.  In  1846  Soren  0.  Sorum 
from  Land  Parish,  Norway,  came  to  Fort  Atkinson 
and  in  1847  Ingeborg  Nilsen,  a  cousin  of  Ole  Valle, 
came  there. 

In  the  summer  of  1846  then,  Valle  and  Kittels 
land  located  in  Clayton  County, 409  buying  a  farm 
together,  about  three  miles  southeast  of  the  present 
village  of  St.  Olaf .  41°  Through  letters  from  Valle 
the  locality  was  soon  brought  to  the  attention  of 
Norwegian  settlers  in  Rock  Prairie  and  Koshkonong. 
In  the  spring  of  1849  Ole  Herbrandson  and  family 
came  out  there  from  Koshkonong;  he  was  an  immi 
grant  from  Morkvold,  Rollaug,  in  1842  and  had,  it 

408  Their  duties  being  to  show  the  Indians  how  to  farm  and  in 
general   to  teach  them   the   white  man's  ways. 

409  The    first    white    child    born    of    Norwegian    parents    in    the 
county  was  Jorund  Valle    (Mrs.  Lars  Thovson,  St.   Olaf),  daughter 
of  Ole  Valle. 

410  See  article  by  Rev.  Jacob  Tanner,  entitled:     "En  kort  Beret- 
ning  50  Aars  kirkelight  Arbeide;  Clayton  County,  Iowa,"  in  Luther- 
aneren,  45   (1901).     My  facts  here  are  gathered  in  large  part  from 
this    article. 


364  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

seems,  visited  Valle  in  Clayton  County  in  1848  and 
found  the  locality  to  his  liking.  In  June  411  Halvor 
Nilsen  Espeseth,  Knut  Hustad,  Ole  Sonde,  and  Ing- 
bret  Skarshaug,  came  from  Eock  Prairie ; 412  going  to 
the  western  part  of  the  county,  Nilsen  selected  land 
in  Grand  Meadow  Township,  becoming  the  founder  of 
the  Clermont  extension  of  the  settlement,  which,  as 
Norwegians  began  to  come  in  gradually,  expanded 
north  into  Fayette  and  Winneshiek  Counties.  Other 
arrivals  of  the  same  summer  were  Abraham  Eustad 
and  family,  Bredo  A.  Holt,  Jens  A.  Holt,  all  from 
Hadeland,  Bertie  Osuldson,  Tallak  Gunderson  and 
family  from  Arendal,  and  Ole  Hanson  and  family. 
These  located  in  the  Clermont  region;  Jens  Holt 
on  section  17,  Marion  Township,  and  Hanson  on  sec 
tion  6  in  the  same  township.  About  simultaneous 
with  these,  Fingar  Johnson,  Helge  Eamstad  and 
wife,  Thorkel  Eiteklep  413  Ole  E.  Sanden,  with  wife 
Guro  and  family,  located  in  the  eastern  settlement.414 
The  founders  of  these  settlements  nearly  all 
came  from  Eock  Prairie,  where  they  had  lived  the 
first  few  years  after  immigrating.  During  the  years 
1850-1851  a  large  number  of  immigrants  joined  the 
colony.  The  first  of  these  were  Lars  Valle,  Hellik 
Glaim, 41S  and  Ansten  Blaekkestad,  all  from  Numedal, 

411  The   date   was   June    llth   according   to   History   of  Clayton 
County,  1882,  p.  831. 

412  The  last  three  were  from  Hallingdal. 

413  According  to  others  these  two  did  not  arrive  till  1850. 

414  Tanner's    article.     Sanden    and    Fingar    Johnson    settled    in 
Wagner  Township. 

415  See  above  page  143. 


FIRST  NORWEGIAN  PIONEERS  365 

Ole  Engbrigtsen  and  Peter  Helgeson  from  Sig- 
dal  in  Numedal,  and  Ole  Gunbjornson  and  Knut 
JcTger  from  Hallingdal,  while  Hal  stein  Groth  and 
family  from  Naps  in  Hallingdal  and  Kittil  Rue  locat 
ed  in  the  western  part  of  the  settlement.  The  Groth 
family  located  in  Marion  Township,  where  also 
James  and  Jacob  Paulson  Broby,  who  came  from 
Hade! and  the  next  year,  settled.  Mrs.  Holder  Peter 
son  and  son  (Peter  Holgerson)  came  in  1851  and  set 
tled  in  Wagner  Township.  Soren  0.  Sorum  and 
wife  416  settled  in  Farmersburg  Township  in  1850, 
being  the  first  Norwegians  there. 417 

But  in  the  very  beginning  of  this  period  the 
movement  was  directed  to  the  counties  to  the  North, 
Allamakee  and  Winneshiek.  The  immigration 
of  Norwegians  into  Clayton  County  had  practically 
ceased  by  1855,  the  chief  reason  for  this  probably 
being  that  the  Germans  came  in  very  large  numbers, 
particularly  to  Clayton  County,  during  the  early  fif 
ties  and  soon  occupied  all  the  best  land. 418  North 
eastern  Iowa  was  but  little  settled,  and  the  develop 
ment  of  the  wilderness  had  only  begun.  Clayton 
County  had  in  1850  a  population  of  three  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  seventy-three,  while  Fayette  had 

416  See  note,  on  p.  213. 

417  In   1867  he  moved  to  Wagner  Township. 

418  Rev.    Tanner    writes:     "When    we    look    at    this    Norwegian 
settlement    as    it    was    then    and    is    to-day    largely,    it    immediately 
strikes  us  that  it  was  wood  and  water  the  colonists  looked  for,  and 
therefore    they    let    the    prairie    lie    and    chose    the    hills    along    the 
Turkey    River.     Not    until    later    did    they    learn    to    understand    the 
value  of  the  prairie,  but  then  the  Germans  had  taken  most  of  it." 


366  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

only  eight  hundred  and  twenty-five,  and  Allamakee 
seven  hundred  and  seventy- seven.  The  population 
of  Winneshiek  County  had  reached  four  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  fifty- seven. 

Allamakee  was  the  next  county  in  order  of  set 
tlement.  419  This  county  was  opened  to  settlement 
in  1848,  but  land  was  not  put  upon  the  market  before 
1850. 42°  In  1849  Ole  L.  Rothnem,  Ole  0.  Storlag, 
Olo  K.  Grimsgaard  and  Erik  K.  Barsgrind  came 
from  Bock  County  to  Allamakee  County  and  select 
ed  land.  In  1850  they  moved  out  with  their  families 
and  in  company  with  them  came :  Ole  K.  Stake,  Arne 
K.  Stake,  Syver  Wold  and  Thomas  A.  Gronna. 
Others  who  came  about  the  same  time  were :  Thomas 
Anderson 421  and  wife  Emilie,  Sven  E.  Hesla, 421 
Bjorn  Hermundson,  Nils  T.  Rue,  Osten  Peterson, 
Lars  Jeglum,  Halvor  E.  Turkop,  Ole  S.  Lekvold,  all 
from  Hallingdal,  and  Nils  N.  Arnesgaard,  who  was 
from  Numedal.  Among  others  who  followed  the 
next  year  I  shall  mention :  Knut  Knutson, 422  G.  H. 
Fagre  and  wife  Katherine,  and  Ole  Smeby  (b.  1804), 
wife  and  sons  Hans,  Ole,  and  John.  They  settled  on 

419  The  Fayette  County  settlement  about  Clermont  is  a  western 
extension   of   the   second   settlement   in    Clayton    County;    its   begin 
nings  have  been  referred  to  above. 

420  The  first  entry  of  purchase  appears  under  the  date  of  Octo 
ber  7,  1850.     The  earliest  settler  in  the  county  was  Henry  Johnson, 
after  whom  Johnsonsport  was  named,  but  I  do  not  know  of  what 
nationality  he  was. 

421  Hesla  had  came  to  America  in  1845,  Anderson  in  1846. 

422  Settled  in  Makee  Township ;   he  had  came  from  Norway  in 
1849. 


FIRST  NORWEGIAN  PIONEERS  367 

the  prairie  north  of  Paint  Creek,  living  in  their  can 
vas-covered  wagons  until  houses  were  built.  Those 
here  named  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Paint  Creek 
Settlement,  which  already  the  next  year  received 
large  accessions. 

The  early  settlers  of  Allamakee  and  neighbor 
ing  counties  experienced  all  the  trials  and  hardships 
of  pioneer  life  in  an  unsettled  country.  There  was 
no  railroad  nearer  than  Milwaukee.  At  McGregor 
there  were  a  few  stores  where  the  necessaries  of  life 
could  be  had. 423  The  process  of  home  building  and 
the  clearing  of  the  forests  was  slow  and  often  attend 
ed  with  many  difficulties.  The  pioneers  generally 
brought  with  them  no  other  wealth  than  stout  hearts 
and  strong  hands,  and  it  was  only  by  industry  and 
severe  economy  that  they  were  able  to  make  a  living 
for  themselves  and  their  families.  Those  who  hired 
out  to  others  received  very  small  wages,  and  as  there 
was  little  money  among  the  pioneer  farmers  this  was 
paid  in  large  part  in  food  or  other  articles.  It  may 
serve  as  an  illustration  that  in  the  winter  of  1850-51 
a  pioneer  in  Clayton  County  424  split  seven  thousand 
rails  of  wood  for  fifty  cents  a  hundred ;  for  this  he 
was  paid  $3.50  in  cash  and  the  remainder  in  food. 43S 

Most  of  the  Norwegians  who  first  settled  in  Al- 


423  In  the   Clermont   Settlement   there   was  a   log-cabin  store  at 
the  village  of  Clermont. 

424  This  pioneer  is  still  living.  —  See  Tanner 's  article. 

425  A  barrel  of  flour  at  that  time  cost  twelve  dollars  in  Iowa,  and 
a  bushel  of  corn  seventy  five  cents.     The  usual  wages  was  25c  a  day, 
sometimes  a  little  more. 


368  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

lamakee  County  came  from  Eock  County,  Wisconsin ; 
later,  some  came  from  Dane  County,  Wisconsin,  and 
also  from  Winneshiek  County,  where  a  settlement 
was  formed  in  June,  1850.  Several,  however,  came 
from  Norway  by  way  of  New  Orleans  and  the  Mis 
sissippi,  as  did  Gilbert  C.  Lyse  in  1851. 

In  1856  there  were  in  the  whole  county  five  hun 
dred  and  five  Norwegians ;  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
one  of  these  had  settled  in  Paint  Creek  (then  Water- 
ville)  Township,  the  rest  being  located  mostly  in 
the  neighboring  towns  of  Center,  La  Fayette,  Taylor, 
Jefferson  and  Makee.  In  the  meantime  a  new  settle 
ment  had  been  established  in  the  northwestern  part 
of  the  county,  in  Hanover  and  Waterloo,  which  soon 
extended  into  Winneshiek  County.  But  the  earliest 
Norwegian  settlement  in  Winneshiek  was  formed  on 
Washington  Prairie  in  June,  1850, 426  when  a  number 
of  families  moved  in  from  Kacine  and  Dane  Coun 
ties,  Wisconsin.,  Eastern  Winneshiek  County  re 
ceived  in  the  following  year  a  large  Norwegian  pop 
ulation. 

Those  who  came  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  1850, 
and  settled  on  Washington  Prairie  were:  Eric  An 
derson  (Budi),427  the  brothers  Ole  and  Staale  T. 
Haugen  from  Flekkefjord,  Ole  G.  Jevne,  Ole  and 
Andrew  A.  Lomen,  Knut  A.  Bakken,  Anders  Hauge, 
John  J.  Quale,  and  Halvor  H.  Groven,  all  from 
Valders,  and  Mikkel  Omli  from  Telemarken.  On 

426  The  county  was  organized  in  1850,  and  the  first  term  of  court 
convened  on  October  5th,  1851. 

427  See  above  page  232. 


FIRST  NORWEGIAN  PIONEERS  369 

July  third  another  party  headed  by  Nels  Johnson  428 
arrived,  including  Tollef  Simonson  Aae,  Knud  Op- 
dahl,  Jacob  Abrahamson, 429  Tver  P.  Quale,  Gjer- 
mund  Johnson  (Kaasa),430  and  John  Thun. 

Of  the  coming  of  this  party  Reverend  Jacobson 
has  given  the  following  account:  In  the  spring  of 
1850  his  parents  and  a  number  of  other  families  left 
Muskego  to  move  out  west  The  leader  of  the  party 
was  Nels  Johnson;  he  had  a  large  military  wagon 
drawn  by  six  oxen.  "This  had  a  big  box  on,  filled  with 
household  goods  and  covered  with  white  canvas. 
On  the  outside  was  placed,  lengthwise,  the  wagon  box, 
several  joints  of  stove  pipe,  so  the  outfit,  with  a  little 
stretch  of  imagination,"  says  Rev.  Jacobson,  "looked 
like  a  man-of-war;  this  was  the  so-called  'prairie- 
schooner.'  Then  there  were  other  vehicles  of  all 
sizes  and  shapes,  from  truck  wagons,  the  wheels  of 
which  were  made  of  solid  sections  of  oak  logs,  down 
to  the  two-wheel  carts."  At  Koshkonong,  Dane  Coun- 

428  The  father  of  Martin  N.  Johnson,  member  of  Congress  from 
North    Dakota.     Nelson    Johnson    was    one    of    the    founders    of    the 
Muskego    Settlement    in    Wisconsin    in    1839.     He    later    entered    the 
Methodist  ministry  and  was  for  two  years,  1855-1857,  pastor  of  the 
Norwegian   M.    E.    Church   in   Cambridge,    Wisconsin.     With   the   ex 
ception  of  these  two  years  he  lived  in  WinnesMek  County  until  his 
death  in  1882. 

429  Father   of  Rev.   Abraham  Jacobson,  to  whom  I  am  in  part 
indebted  for   facts  on   the   early  settlement  of  Washington  Prairie. 
Rev.  Jacobson  has  also  printed  a  pamphlet:   The  Pioneer  Norwegians, 
Decorah,  1905,  16  pages,  which  is  a  most  valuable  contribution  to  the 
pioneer  history  of  Winneshiek  County.     A  very  brief  chapter  on  the 
' '  Pioneer  Norwegians ' '  may  also  be  found  in  Alexander 's  History  of 
WinnesMek  County,  1882,  pages  185-186. 

430  A  brother  of  Nels  Johnson.     Thun  was  from  Valders. 


370  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

ty,  so  many  more  joined  them  that  they  were  in  all 
over  one  hundred  individuals;  the  caravan  included 
furthermore  now  two  hundred  head  of  cattle,  a  few 
hogs  and  sheep,  a  mare  and  a  colt.  They  drove  on 
via  Madison,  then  a  little  village,  to  Prairie  du  Chien, 
where  the  party  divided  one-half  going  to  Vernon 
County, 431  Wisconsin,  the  other  half  to  Iowa.  Kev. 
erend  Jacobson  says  of  the  journey  at  this  point: 

The  Wisconsin  river  had  to  be  crossed  on  a  small  ferry 
boat,  the  propelling  power  was  furnished  by  a  horse  placed 
on  a  tread-power  which  worked  the  paddle-wheels.  Only 
one  wagon  and  a  team  at  a  time  could  be  taken  aboard. 
The  herd  of  loose  cattle  had  to  swim  over  the  river,  all  of 
which  was  accomplished  without  any  accident  worthy  of 
note.  The  ferry  boat  at  Prairie  du  Chien  was  larger  and 
propelled  by  four  mule  powerj  but  the  water  being  high, 
the  Mississippi  River  was  nearly  two  miles  wide,  and  much 
time  was  taken  to  get  all  to  the  western  bank.  Thirteen 
miles  northwest  from  McGregor  at  Poverty  Point,  since 
called  Monona,  another  halt  of  a  creek  was  made.  The 
scouting  party  before  alluded  to  had  visited  several  local 
ities,  and  opinions  were  divided  as  to  which  was  the  best 
point  to  settle  down.  The  company  was  now  divided  into 
three  divisions,  we  going  with  the  original  leader  to  the 
vicinity  of  Decorah,  landing  on  our  claims  on  the  third  of 
July.  The  journey  had  taken  five  weeks,  counting  from 
the  time  of  starting.  Those  who  had  room  enough  slept 
under  the  wagon  covers,  the  others  slept  on  the  bare  ground 
under  the  wagons. 


431  The  Norwegian  settlement  at  and  about  Westby,  Vernon  Co., 
dates  from  this  time,  1850. 

432  Speaking  of  the  Indians  Eev.  Jacobson  says,  ' '  They  had  their 


FIRST  NORWEGIAN  PIONEERS  371 

Of  this  party  Simonson,  Opdahl,  Abrahamson, 
and  Quale  settled  in  Springfield,  the  rest  in  Decorah 
and  Glenwood  Townships. 433  Most  of  the  members 
of  these  parties  had  come  to  America  several  years 
before,  as  Opdahl  in  1848  and  Tostenson  in  1847; 
three  of  them,  as  we  know,  Kudi  and  the  two  John 
sons,  had  immigrated  in  1839. 

A  small  party  from  Jefferson  Prairie,  Wi scon- 
son,  including  Tore  P.  Skotland  and  his  brother 
Endre  P.  Sandanger,  Ellef  and  Lars  Land,  natives 
of  Ringerike,  also  came  the  same  summer;  these  se 
cured  claims  around  Calmar.  The  first  list  of  landed 
assessments  in  Winneshiek  County 434  records  the 
names  of  Jacob  Abrahamson,  Knud  Guldbrandson 
(Opdahl),  Ole  Gullikson  (Jevne),  Egbert  Guldbrand 
son  (Saland),  Erik  Clement  (Skaali),  Halvor  Hal- 
vorson  (Groven),  0.  A.  Lomen,  Ole  Larsen  Bergan, 
Mikkel  Omli,  Tollef  Simonson  (Aae),  T.  Hulverson, 
and  Ole  Tostenson. 

Among  other  settlers  of  1850,  not  named  above, 
I  may  name:  Nils  Thronson,  who  had  come  from 


homes  in  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  and  did  not  molest  the  settlers 
in  the  least."  On  the  banks  of  the  Upper  Iowa  river  many  Indian 
graves  were  found.  The  bodies  were  buried  in  a  sitting  position, 
with  the  head  sometimes  above  the  ground.  A  forked  stick  put  up 
like  a  post  at  each  end  of  the  grave  held  a  ridge  pole  on  which 
leaned  thin  boards,  placed  slanting  to  each  side  of  the  grave.  Thus 
each  grave  presented  the  appearance  of  the  gable  of  a  small  house. 

433  The   eastern   two-thirds   of   Winneshiek   County   clear   to   the 
Minnesota   line  in  a  few  years  became  extensively  settled  by   Nor 
wegians. 

434  According  to  Reverend  Jacobson,  The  Pioneer  Norwegian  p. 
5;  the  list  is  for  1852. 


372  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Valders  in  1848,  settling  in  Dane  County,  Wiscon 
sin;  he  located  in  Glenwood  Township  in  the  sum 
mer  of  1850;  Christopher  A.  Estrem  from  Vang  Par 
ish,  who  had  immigrated  to  Chicago  in  1848;  he 
came  to  Winneshiek  County  and  located  in  Frank- 
ville  Township  as  one  of  the  very  first  Norwegians 
there;  Engebret  Haugen,  who  had  immigrated  in 
1842,  locating  near  Beloit,  Wisconsin;  the  family 
settled  near  Decorah  in  1850,  purchasing  the  old  In 
dian  Trading  Post  then  owned  by  J.  G.  Eice. 

In  the  fall  of  1850  Johannes  Evenson,  Ole  L. 
Bergan,  Knud  L.  Bergan,  and  Jorgen  Lommen  came. 
Of  these  Evenson  located  west  of  Decorah,  in  Mad 
ison  Township,  becoming  the  first  Norwegian  to  set 
tle  there. 43S  As  near  as  I  can  tell,  Lars  Iverson 
Medaas  and  family  were  the  first  Norwegians  to  set 
tle  in  Canoe  Township.  Iverson  who  was  born  at 
Tillung,  Voss  (in  1802),  but  had  married  Sigrid  Vik- 
ingsdatter  in  Graven,  Hardanger  (1835)  and  settled 
on  the  farm  Medaas,  emigrated  to  America  in  1850. 
They  spent  the  first  winter  on  Liberty  Prairie,  Dane 
County,  Wisconsin,  and  moved  to  Winneshiek  Coun 
ty  early  in  the  spring  of  1851,  locating  in  Canoe 
Township,  on  section  two,  where  they  lived  till  their 
death. 436 


435  Helge  N.  Myrand  and  his  widowed  mother,  who  had  immi 
grated  in  1841  and  settled  in  Muskego  County,  came  west  and  located 
in  Madison  in  1851. 

436  Iverson  died  in   1887,  his  wife  in   1890.     Tver  Larson,   well 
known  merchant  and  for  many  years  treasurer  of  the  United  Nor 
wegian  Lutheran  Church,  who  died  in  1907,  was  a  son  of  Iverson. 


FIRST  NORWEGIAN  PIONEERS  373 

The  first  Norwegians  to  enter  Hesper  Township 
were  a  party  of  immigrants  who  came  by  the  ship 
Valhalla  from  Tonsberg  in  the  summer  of  1852. 
They  were  from  Tolgen,  in  northern  Osterdalen,  and 
from  Koraas  and  Guldalen, 437  hence  from  a  much 
more  northerly  region  than  their  countrymen  in 
southern  Winneshiek  County.  The  party  consisted 
of  the  following:  Trond  Laugen,  John  Losen,  Sr., 
Bendt  Pederson,  Ingbrigt  Bergh,  Mons  Monsen,  all 
of  whom  were  married,  and  John  Void  and  Jocum 
Nelson.  These  were  followed  in  the  next  year  by 
John  S.  Losen,  Jr.,  and  Ole  B.  Anderson  Borren. 
Among  the  earliest  settlers  from  other  regions  were 
Paul  Thorsen,  Salve  Olson  and  Torjus  Gunderson 
from  Ssetersdalen,  Knut  Herbrandson  and  Christian 
Lien  from  Hallingdal,  Aadne  Glaamene  and  family 
from  Voss,  Lars  Bakka  and  Bendik  Larson  from 
Sogn,  and  Peder  Wennes  from  Vardalen. 438 

From  the  towns  of  Springfield,  Decorah,  and 
Glenwood,  the  settlement  thus  soon  spread  into  the 
neighboring  townships  — •  north  into  Canoe,  Hesper, 
and  Highland,  where  it  united  with  the  settlement  in 
northwestern  Allamakee  County,  and  south  through 
the  towns  of  Calmar  and  Military,  uniting  with  the 
settlement  in  north  central  Fayette  County  in  Door 
Township.  This  last  settlement  extends  through 
Pleasant  Valley  southward  into  Clayton  County. 

437  They  were  the  first  emigrants  to  America  from  this  district. 

438  For  the   facts  on  Hesper   Township   I   am   indebted   to   Mr. 
J.  A.  Nelson  of  Prosper,  Minnesota,  a  student  in  the  State  Univer 
sity  of  Iowa. 


374  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

Together  these  settlements  form  the  eastern  part  of 
Clayton  County,  west  through  Fayette,  and  north 
through  Winneshiek  to  northern  Allarnakee.  In  Al- 
lamakee  it  extends  as  far  as  Harper's  Ferry  and 
Lansing.  The  bulk  of  the  population,  however, 
is  found  in  Winneshiek  County.  The  principal  Nor 
wegian  townships  are:  Glenwood,  Decorah,  Spring 
field,  Madison,  and  Highland.  About  half  of  the 
population  of  the  county  is  of  Norwegian  birth,  or 
of  that  descent. 


CHAPTER  XLII 

Survey  of  Immigration  from  Norway  to  America. 
Conclusion. 

We  are  then  at  the  end  of  our  task.  We  dis 
cussed  at  first  early  individual  immigration  from 
Norway  down  to  the  year  1825.  Then  tracing  brief 
ly  the  fortunes  of  the  party  of  immigrants  who  came 
from  Norway  that  year  we  followed  the  subsequent 
immigration,  year  by  year,  down  to  1848,  and  the 
founding  of  settlements  in  this  country  from  Orleans 
County,  New  York,  in  1825,  to  Winneshiek  County, 
Iowa,  in  1850.  The  growth  of  the  emigration  move 
ment  in  Norway  and  the  course  of  settlements  here 
have  been  indicated.  The  names  of  the  promoters  of 
emigration  in  each  district  and  province  and  of  the 
founders  of  settlements  have  in  all  cases  been  given. 
In  most  cases  we  have  succeeded  in  giving  a  fairly 
complete  list  of  names  of  the  settlers  in  any  com 
munity  during  the  first  four  to  eight  years  of  its 
history,  that  is  its  period  of  growth,  the  years  dur 
ing  which  it  assumed  the  character  of  a  Norwegian 
settlement.  The  varied  causes  of  emigration  were 
also  discussed  at  some  length  as  also  other  ques 
tions  as  the  cost  of  passage  and  duration  and  course 
of  the  journey ;  and  in  the  discussion  of  the  individual 
settlements  we  have  now  and  then  given  a  glimpse 
of  the  general  conditions  of  life  in  early  pioneer 


376  NORWEGIAN  .  IMMIGRATION 

days.  I  desire  now  by  way  of  conclusion  to  summar 
ize  briefly  the  course  of  emigration  in  Norway  and 
the  distribution  of  the  representatives  of  each  dis 
trict  in  this  country. 

The  first  emigrants  from  Norway  were  from 
Stavanger,  Haugesund  and  Ryfylke.  Before  1836 
the  movement  did  not  reach  out  beyond  these  dis 
tricts  although  a  few  individuals  had  come  from 
Sondhordland  and  Hardanger.  The  emigration 
from  Hardanger  begins  properly  in  1836 ;  that  year 
also  records  the  first  arrivals  from  Voss. 439  How 
ever  most  of  the  immigrants  of  that  year,  as  the  fol 
lowing  two  years,  were  from  the  districts  that  had 
furnished  the  emigrants  of  the  decade  1825-1835. 
The  year  1837  is  especially  noteworthy  for  the  sail 
ing  of  the  first  emigrant  ship  from  Bergen  and  that 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  Bergen  for  the  first  time 
furnished  its  quota  of  the  emigration.  It  is  further 
significant  in  that  Voss  now  enters  definitely  into 
the  movement,  and  that  Upper  Telemarken  and  the 
neighboring  region  of  West  Numedal  contributed  the 
first  recruits  to  the  American  settlements.  The  emi 
grants  of  1839  came  in  considerable  part  from  Upper 
Telemarken,  from  Numedal,  from  Voss  and  Hardan 
ger,  but  not  a  few  also  from  the  older  districts. 
This  continued  in  1840  and  1841,  except  that  there 
were  no  emigrants  from  Hardanger  during  these 
two  years  and  very  few  for  the  next  four  years  also. 
In  1842  the  first  party  left  Sogn  and  in  1844  and 


439  At  least  eighteen  persons  from  Hardanger  and  two  from  Voss. 


SURVEY  OF  IMMIGRATION  377 

1845  considerable  numbers  came  to  America  from 
this  district.  The  year  1843  is  especially  noteworthy 
for  the  very  large  emigration  of  that  year  from  Up 
per  Telemarken  and  the  growth  of  the  movement 
in  new  parishes  in  Numedal.  In  this  year  also  the 
America-fever  enters  Lower  Telemarken,  a  number 
of  families  going  to  America  from  Holden  Parish 
and  Kragero,  which  in  1844-1845  expands  to  include 
Sande  and  Bo  and  the  region  of  Skien.  During  1843 
the  first  emigrants  also  leave  Saetersdalen,  and  from 
now  on  it  is  to  be  observed  that  there  is  a  steady 
out-going  of  emigrants  from  Ryfylke  and  Sondhord- 
land  for  the  period  of  nearly  a  decade.  The  move 
ment  is  also  beginning  to  expand  in  two  other  direc 
tions  :  north  from  Numedal  into  Hallingdal  and  soon 
after  northeast  from  the  region  of  the  Sognef jord 
up  to  northern  and  the  extreme  Inner  Sogn.  The 
influx  of  immigrants  from  Telemarken  and  Numedal 
continues,  and  in  increased  numbers  from  Voss 
and  the  movement  begins  anew  in  Hardanger  in  1846. 
Hallingdal  sent  forth  a  large  number  of  families  and 
single  persons  in  1846-47,  most  of  whom  as  we  know 
settled  in  Eock  and  La  Fayette  Counties,  Wisconsin, 
many  later  moving  into  Iowa.  In  1847-48  these  two 
movements  meet  in  Valders,  the  one  from  Hallingdal 
entering  first  in  South  and  North  Aurdal,  the  other 
from  Lasrdal  and  Aardal  in  Sogn,  entering  about 
1850  into  Vang,  Hurum  and  West  Slidre  in  Valders. 
In  the  meantime  the  movement  has  traveled  also 
from  Lower  Telemarken,  Drammen  and  Eastern 


378  SURVEY  OF  IMMIGRATION 

Numedal  (Sigdal)  up  through  Ringerike,  Hadeland 
and  Land.  Especially  large  was  the  emigration  from 
North  and  South  Land  clear  to  Torpen  in  1847-1850. 
The  region  east  of  Land,  i.  e.,  Toten,  Hedemarken 
and  Solor  furnish  occasional  immigrants  from  now 
on  but  not  in  considerable  numbers  until  many  years 
later.  From  Land  and  from  Valders  the  movement 
grows  northward  into  Gudbrandsdalen  and  north 
westward  into  Osterdalen  and  Trondhjem,  from 
which  provinces,  however,  relatively  very  few  emi 
grated  to  America  until  after  1850,  and  the  emigra 
tion  was  not  heavy  from  this  region  or  from  the 
northern  coast  districts,  —  Sondfjord,  Nordfjord, 
Sondmore,  Nordmore  —  until  after  the  Civil  War.  44° 
As  to  the  number  of  immigrants  that  each  of 
the  districts  had  contributed  to  the  American  pop 
ulation  before  1850,  or  have  down  to  the  present  time, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  say.  The  emigration  from 
such  vast  districts  as  Telemarken  and  Sogn,  as  later 
from  Gudbrandsdalen,  Hedemarken  and  Osterdalen, 
has  been  heaviest,  while  from  Kyfylke  and  Voss  the 
incoming  settlers  have  been  very  numerous,  as  also 
from  the  small  but  very  populous  Sondhordland, 
Hadeland  and  Land.  Valdris  and  Hallingdal 441 
each  about  half  as  large  as  Sogn  have  contributed 

440  And  from  Nordland  not  until  after  1875.     It  is  to  be  ob 
served  also  that  the  emigration  from  the  older  inland  districts  was 
very  heavy  clear  down  to   1890. 

441  In  1891  Hallingdal  had  a  population  of  12,900,  Valdris  17,- 
000,  Sogn  37,050,  Sondhordland  34,750,  Hardanger  25,900,  Kyfylke 
46,000,    Telemarken   44,000,    Sastersdalen    8,380.     The   population    of 
each  is  much  larger  now. 


SURVEY  OF  IMMIGRATION  379 

perhaps  each  about  one-third  as  many  immigrants 
as  Sogn,  each  contributing  about  equally  to  the 
American  emigration.  Relatively  small  has  been  the 
immigration  from  Hardanger,  Ssetersdalen  and  the 
vicinity  of  Stavanger.  The  extensive  districts  of 
Telemarken  and  Sogn  entered  early  into  the  move 
ment  and  have  continued  down  to  the  present  time  to 
furnish  large  numbers  of  recruits  to  the  Norwegian 
immigrant  population.  Representatives  of  these 
two  regions,  the  immigrated  and  their  descendants, 
are,  I  believe,  most  numerous  among  the  various 
groups  of  Norwegian  settlers  in  America. 

In  this  country  the  relative  position  of  the  rep 
resentatives  of  each  is  about  that  which  they  occu 
pied  in  the  old;  this  finds  its  reason  chiefly  in  the 
time  at  which  the  different  states  were  opened  up  to 
settlers.  Natives  from  Stavanger,  Ryfylke  and 
Sondhordland  are  found  chiefly  in  Illinois  and  in  the 
settlements  of  Central  Iowa  (Benton  and  Story 
Counties).  In  Illinois  are  located  also  in  large  num 
bers  natives  of  Hardanger  (Lee  County),  and  Voss 
(Chicago),  but  only  to  a  very  limited  extent  those 
of  other  districts.  In  Southern  Wisconsin  and  to 
a  slight  extent  in  the  adjacent  parts  of  Illinois  have 
located  especially  the  natives  of  Numedal,  and  to 
some  extent  those  of  Land  and  Sogn.  Natives  of 
Sogn  have,  however,  found  homes  most  extensively 
in  the  various  settlements  of  Wisconsin  and  Min 
nesota  and  Northern  Iowa. 442  Here  they  are  pres- 

442  In   Winneshiek   and   Worth   Counties,    where   also   natives   of 
Hallingdal  have  settled  in  large  numbers. 


380  NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 

ent  in  all  parts  of  the  states  but  in  largest  numbers 
in  the  oldest  settlements  in  Southern  and  Western 
Wisconsin  and  in  Southeastern  Minnesota.  Natives 
of  Telemarken  are  found  well  scattered,  from  their 
original  center  in  Eacine  County,  through  Walworth 
and  Dane  Counties,  thence  to  Central  Wisconsin  and 
Minnesota.  The  representatives  of  Valders  are 
found  in  largest  numbers  in  Western  Dane  County, 
in  Manitowoc  County,  Wisconsin,  and  in  Goodhue 
County,  Minnesota. 

It  will  not  be  possible  to  discuss  here  the  later 
development  of  the  various  settlements  that  have 
been  treated  above  or  the  increase  of  the  Norwegian 
factor  in  the  counties  where  these  settlements  were 
formed.  Space  forbids  this,  and  these  facts  have, 
furthermore,  been  briefly  indicated  elsewhere  in  this 
volume.  Thus  in  Chapter  II  we  have  outlined  the 
extent  of  immigration  from  Norway  and  the  geo 
graphical  distribution  of  settlements,  while  the  subse 
quent  history  of  the  special  settlements  has  often 
been  briefly  indicated.  It  may  here  be  added  that  the 
counties  in  Southern  Wisconsin  as  a  whole  enjoyed  a 
much  more  rapid  development  during  the  years  1840- 
1850  than  those  of  Northern  Illinois,  and  that  this 
was  due  in  a  very  large  measure  to  the  incoming  of 
such  a  large  number  of  settlers  from  Norway 443  in 
the  best  years  of  their  life. 

It  has  elsewhere  in  this  volume  been  shown  that 
Wisconsin  early  became  the  objective  point  of  im- 

443  Similarly  the  ' '  Norwegian ' '  county  of  La  Salle  in  Illinois 


SURVEY  OF  IMMIGRATION  381 

migrants  from  Norway.  This  significant  position 
in  Norwegian- American  history  Wisconsin  continued 
to  hold  throughout  the  whole  period  we  have  dis 
cussed  and  for  a  long  time  afterwards.  In  1850,  fifty 
per  cent  of  all  Norwegians  in  the  United  States 
were  domiciled  within  the  borders  of  the  State  of 
Wisconsin.  It  was  with  Wisconsin  that  the  chief 
events  in  early  Norwegian- American  history  are  as 
sociated.  The  principal  scenes  in  the  great  pioneer 
drama  were  enacted  here.  As  all  the  paths  of  the 
Norwegian  immigrant  in  that  early  day  led  to  Wis 
consin  so  the  threads  of  all  subsequent  Norwegian 
history  in  America  lead  back  to  Wisconsin. 444 
Whether  in  material  welfare,  in  church,  in  politics 
or  in  education  it  was  in  Wisconsin  that  the  Norwe 
gian  first  made  a  place  for  himself  in  America  and 
laid  the  foundation  for  all  his  later  progress. 445 

was  the  leading  county  in  that  part  of  Illinois  in  the  same  period, 
its  population  in  1850  being  17,815,  that  of  Grundy  3,023,  and  De 
Kalb,  7,540. 

In  the  year  1900  the  principal  Norwegian  counties  among 
those  that  fall  within  the  scope  of  the  discussion  in  this  volume  were 
in  order:  Cook  County,  Illinois;  Dane  County,  Wisconsin;  Winne- 
shiek  County,  Iowa;  Milwaukee  County,  Wisconsin;  Kock  County, 
Wisconsin;  and  La  Salle  County,  Illinois. 

444  Barring  the   relatively   very  small   Norwegian   factor   in   the 
cities  of  the  East,  which  stands  practically  isolated  from  Norwegian 
American   life. 

445  At  the  same  time  we  must  not  forget  that  the  era  of  settle 
ment  began  in  Illinois,  and  Illinois  has  always  continued  to  hold  a 
prominent  place  in  Norwegian-American  history. 


Appendices 


APPENDIX  I 


TABLE    I 

Showing  the  growth  and   distribution   of  the   foreign  Scandinavian  factor  by 

decades  in  the  Northwestern  states  and  in  sections  elsewhere 

1850  1860  1870  1880  1890  1900 

lichigan                          ....       139  898  5,276  16,445  41,496  40,928 

Wisconsin                               .   8,885  23,265  48,057  66,284  99,738  103,942 

Hinois                                    .    3,631  12,073  44,570  65,414  128,897  144,812 

owa                                               611  7,814  31, 177  46,046  72,873  72,611 

Minnesota'                                      12  11,773  58,837  107,768  215,215  236,670 

Nebraska                         ....  323  3,987  16,685  46,341  40,107 

STorth  Dakota   {  129  1>674       17>868  j  34,216  42,578 

South  .Dakota   \  I  31,372 

Fetal   in   Northwest..      ..13,278  56,275  193,578  336,511  670,148  715,121 

STew    England 749  1,507  3,113  11,243  43,606  70,632 

STew  York      } 

ew  Jersey    (    1,897  4,506  12,291  28,492  75,331  105,641 

Pennsylvania  ) 

The   South  l                           .    1,084  1,531  3,189  4,081  5,936  7,646 

other    states        1,067  8,763  29,497  59,935  138,328  166,525 

Total  outside  Northwest..   4,797  16,307  48,090  103,741  263,201  350,444 

Total                                18,075  72,582  241,668  440,252  933,349  1,065,565 


TABLE  TI 

Showing  the  growth  of  the  Norwegian  foreign-born  population  in  each  state 
by    decades   since    1850 
1850 


Maine 

New    Hampshire 

Vermont    

Massachusetts     

Rhode   Island 

Connecticut 

New  York    

New  Jersey   

Maryland     

Delaware    

District   of   Columbia 

Pennsylvania     

Virginia     

West  Virginia  


12 

2 

8 

69 
25 

1 
392 

4 
10 


1860 

97 


171 

38 

22 

539 

65 

7 

1 

83 


1870 
58 
55 
34 
302 
22 
72 
975 
90 
17 

5 

115 
17 

1 


1880 
99 
79 
10 
639 
56 
168 
2,185 
229 
108 
6 

19 

381 

29 

3 


1890 
311 
251 
38 

2,519 

285 

529 

8,602 

1,317 

164 

14 

70 

2,238 

102 

7 


1900 
509 
295 
54 

3,335 

342 

709 

12,601 

2,296 

246 

49 

101 

1,393 

123 

19 


1  Not  including  Missouri. 


386 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


North  Carolina  

4 

5 

10 

13 

South    Carolina 

4 

5 

23 

Florida     

17 

11 

16 

79 

179 

Georgia    

6 

13 

14 

23 

88 

Alabama     

3 

51 

21 

24 

47 

Tennessee    

14 

37 

25 

41 

Kentucky    

18 

10 

16 

21 

120 

Mississippi    

8 

15 

78 

56 

54 

Louisiana    

64 

63 

76 

78 

136 

Arkansas    

1 

5 

19 

33 

60 

Missouri    

155 

146 

297 

373 

526 

Ohio    

18 

19 

64 

178 

511 

Indiana     

18 

38 

123 

182 

285 

.Illinois    

2,415 

4,891 

11,880 

16,970 

30,339 

Michigan    

110 

440 

1,516 

3,520 

7,795 

-Wisconsin     

^8,651 

21,442 

40,046 

49,349 

65,696 

Iowa     

361 

5,688 

17,554 

21,583 

27,078 

^Minnesota    

7 

8,425 

35,940 

62,521 

101,169 

Kansas     

223 

588 

1,358 

1,786 

Nebraska    

506 

2,010 

3,632 

South  Dakota  
North  Dakota   

I    129 

1,179 

13,245 

{     19,257 
1    25,773 

Wyoming    

28 

74 

345 

Colorado    

12 

40 

354 

893 

Oklahoma    

36 

Texas    , 

326 

403 

880 

1,313 

Arizona    

7 

45 

59 

Utah    

613 

1,214 

1,854 

Nevada    

80 

119 

69 

Idaho    

61 

276 

741 

New  Mexico   

2 

5 

17 

42 

California     

715 

1,000 

1,765 

3,702 

Oregon    

43 

76 

574 

2,271 

Washington    

104 

580 

8,324 

Montana    

88 

174 

1,957 

Total    

12,407 

43,695 

114,246 

181,696 

302,721 

TABLE    III 

Showing  the  Norwegian  foreign  parentage    population   in   the   United 
according  to  the  U.  S.  Census  for  1900. 


1.  Minnesota    257,959  8. 

2.  Wisconsin    155,125  9. 

3.  North  Dakota    72,012  10. 

4.  Iowa    71,170  11. 

5.  Illinois    59,954  12. 

6.  South  Dakota   51,199  13. 

7.  New  York   18,928  14. 


Washington    18, 82^ 

Michigan    14,09." 

California     8,53( 

Nebraska    7,22* 

Montana     5,68J 

Oregon    5,56", 

Massachusetts   5,06£ 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


387 


5.  Utah   4,557 

6.  Kansas   3,731 

New  Jersey 3,518 

Texas    3,406 

Idaho    2,767 

0.  Pennsylvania     2,254 

1.  Colorado     2,096 

2.  Alaska    1,454 

3.  Missouri 1,301 

4.  Ohio    1,174 

5.  Connecticut    1,083 

6.  Indiana     852 

7.  Maine    833 

Wyoming    727 

9.     Florida    558 

0.  New  Hampshire    504 

1.  Rhode  Island 502 

Maryland    442 

Louisiana    441 


34.  Tennessee    

35.  Alabama    375 

36.  Hawaii     370 

37.  Oklahoma    350 

38.  Virginia   282 

39.  Georgia     277 

40.  Arizona    228 

41.  Mississippi     211 

42.  District  of  Columbia .  .  195 

43.  Arkansas    133 

44.  Indian  Territory    ....  115 

45.  Nevada   95 

46.  Vermont    93 

47.  Kentucky   88 

48.  South  Carolina   86 

49.  Delaware    59 

50.  West   Virginia    46 

51.  North  Carolina 44 


APPENDIX  II 


Names    of    Parighes    and    Settlements   in   Norway    (see   page    131), 


1.  Skjold. 

2.  Kopervik. 

3.  Tananger. 

4.  Aardal. 

5.  Vikedal. 

6.  Hjelmeland. 

7.  Skaanevik. 

8.  Vinje. 

9.  Mo. 

10.  Flatdal. 

11.  Siljord. 

12.  Hviteseid. 

13.  Laurdal. 

14.  Nissedal. 

15.  Moland. 

16.  Drangedal. 

17.  Sandokedal. 

18.  Bamle. 

19.  Gjerpen. 

20.  Porsgnind. 

21.  Hiterdal. 

22.  Rollaug. 

23.  Nore. 

24.  Sigdal. 

25.  Flesberg. 

26.  Lyngdal. 

27.  Eggedal. 

28.  Hovin. 

29.  Tin. 

30.  Bo. 

31.  Holden. 

32.  Slemdal. 

33.  Sandsvserd. 

34.  Eker. 

35.  Modum. 

36.  Lier. 

37.  Skauger. 

38.  Sande. 

39.  Kvindherred. 

40.  Odde. 

41.  Jondal. 

42.  Vikor. 

43.  Ullensvang. 


44.  Ulvik. 

45.  Vossevangen. 

46.  Vossestranden. 

47.  Evanger. 

48.  Graven. 

49.  Samnanger. 

50.  Vik. 

51.  Aurland. 

52.  Lasrdal. 

53.  Lekanger. 

54.  Sogndal. 

55.  Aardal. 

56.  Lyster. 

57.  Jostedal. 

58.  Fjerland. 

59.  Balestrand. 

60.  Borgund. 

61.  Hemsedal. 

62.  Gol. 

63.  Nges. 

64.  Flaa. 

65.  Sondre  Aurdal. 

66.  Nordre  Aurdal. 

67.  Vestre  Slidre. 

68.  (3stre  Slidre. 

69.  Humm. 

70.  Vang. 

71.  Nordre  Land. 

72.  Sondre  Land. 

73.  Vardal. 

74.  Biri. 

75.  Eingsaker. 

76.  Ullensaker. 

77.  Faaberg. 

78.  Eendalen. 

79.  Vaage. 

80.  Froen. 

81.  Lesje. 

82.  Eid. 

83.  Selbu. 

84.  Soknedalen. 

85.  Rindalen. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


The  brief  bibliography  here  given  is  not  intended  to  be  com 
plete.  The  books  and  articles  spoken  of  in  the  ' '  Foreword ' '  of  this 
volume,  pages  7-9,  are  not  re-listed  here. 

Anderson,  Rasmus  B.  Bygdejaevning.  Madison,  Wis.,  1903.  Pp. 
VI  +  215.  Has  very  little  historical  value;  a  series  of  uncritical 
contributions. 

Flom,  George  T.  Chapters  on  Scandinavian  Immigration  to  Iowa. 
Iowa  City,  1905.  Pp.  IV  +  150.  A  brief  survey. 

Hatlestad,  O.  J.  Historislce  Meddelelser  om  den  norslce  Augustana 
Synode.  Decorah,  Iowa,  1887.  Pp.  254. 

Holand,  Hjalmar  E.  T)e  norske  Scttlementers  Historic.  Ephraim, 
Wis.,  1908.  Pp.  603.  A  series  of  brief  surveys  (on  pages  100- 
5G5)  of  most  of  the  settlements  down  to  1865,  unfortunately  in 
part  uncritical. 

Keyes,  Judge  E.  W.  History  of  Dane  County.  Madison,  Wisconsin, 
1906.  Volumes  I-III.  Scandinavian  matter  very  incomplete 
and  often  erroneous.  Names  frequently  misspelled. 

Krartalslcrift.  Udgivet  of  Dot  norske  Selskab  i  Amerika.  Wal- 
demar  Ager,  Redaktor  I-V,  1905-1909.  Various  articles,  usually 
very  good. 

Langeland,  Knud.  Nordmaendene  i  America.  Chicago,  1889.  Pp. 
224.  Fragmentary. 

Nelson,  O.  N.  History  of  the  Scandinavians  and  Successful  Scan 
dinavians  in  the  United  States.  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  1901.  Vol 
umes  I-IL  A  series  of  articles  by  various  contributors  and  a 
large  number  of  biographies.  In  general  very  reliable. 

Normandsforbundet,  I-II,  1907-1909.  A  number  of  excellent  articles 
of  real  permanent  value. 

Peck,  Geo.  W.,  ed.  Cyclopedia  of  Wisconsin.  Madison,  Wisconsin, 
1906.  Volumes  I-II.  Scandinavian  biographies,  etc.,  often  full 
of  errors. 

Ulvestad,  Martin.  Normaendene  i  Amerika,  deres  Historic  og 
Eecord.  Minneapolis,  1907.  Pp.  871. 


INDEX 


[The  Church  Register  and  the  footnotes  are  not  indexed.] 


AABERGE,   Peder   S.,    312 

Aadland,    Knud,    162 

Aadland,    Mons,    100,    103,    112,    158, 

161,    162,    222,    283 
Aadland,    Thomas,    162,    280 
Aaen,   Ilalvor   N.,   211 
Aamodt,    Anders,    220 
Aamodt,    Christopher,    298 
Aaretuen,    Anna,    287 
Aaretuen,   Knut,   266,   269,   270 
Aaretuen,    Knut   K.,    285,   287 
Aarhus,    Rasmus    J.,    37 
Aarhus,   Reiar,    342 
Aarness,    Angon,    338 
Aas.    Aslak,    286 
Aas,   Halvor   N.,    143,    144 
Aas,    Lars,   see    Skavlem,    Lars 
Aase,   Anders  E.,  276 
Aase,   Hans    H.,    338 
Aase,  Lasse    E-,    276,    310 
Aase,  Thor,    340 
Aasen,    Halror,    148 
Aasen,    Halvor,    261 
Aasen,    Nils,   302 
Aasland,    Ole,    118,    119,   222 
Aasnes,    Ole    T.,     188 
Aavri,    Anders    O.,    273 
Aavri,    Johans    O.,    273 
Aavri,    Ole    J.,    273 
Abrahamson,   Jacob,    369,    371 
Aga,    Jon    J.,    95 
Allen,    Mrs.    Margaret,   45,    60 
Allen,   William,   49,    76 
Anderson,   Arnold   A.,    178 
Anderson   (Aasen),  Andrew,  93,  355 
Anderson,   Andrew,    238 
Anderson,   A.   S.,   59 
Anderson,    Anderson    G.,    58 
Anderson,   Arle,    232 
Anderson    (Kvelve),    Bjorn,   93,    110, 

175,   176,    178,   179,    180,   256 
Anderson,    Dan    K.,    8,    304 
Anderson,   Eric,    232,    348 


Anderson,   Erik    A. 
Anderson,    Halvor,    291 
Anderson,  John,    337,    338 
Anderson,  J.    C.,    235 
Anderson,  John   A.,   238,    284 
Anderson,   Kjel,    337,    338 
Anderson,   Lars   O.,    149 
Anderson,   Martha,    235 
Anderson,   Ole,    13 
Anderson,   Ole,    147,    159,    202 
Anderson,  Ole,    344 
Anderson,    Ole    O.,    312 
Anderson,    Peter    S.,    304 
Anderson,  R.   B.,   9,   37,   47,   56,   66, 

103,    173,    191 
Anderson,   Susanna,    93 
Anderson,  William,     348 
Andrewson,    Rev.    O.,    209 
Andsion,    Peter    M.,    286 
Anmarksrud,    Tollef    S.,    343 
Arnesgaard,    Nils,    366 
Arveson,    Hans,   290,   293 
Arveson,    Harvey,   8,   290,   293,   294 
Arveson,    Isak,    290 
Arveson,   John,    292 
Arveson,   Ole,   290 
Asdohldalen,    Knut,    260 
Askeland,   Andrew,    125 
Atwater,   John,   60 

BAARSON    (Bowerson),    Knut,    345 

Baarson,   Lars,   208 

Backe,   Soren,    156,   158,   159,   160 

Backe,   Tollef  O.,    156 

Baker    (Eager),   John,   251 

Baker,  Mrs.    Ole,    345 

Baker,   P.    O.,    345 

Bakka,    Lars,    373 

Bakke,   Hans   H.,   285 

Bakke,   Ole  J.,  218 

Bakken,   Ole    O.,    342 

Bakken,   Tideman,    342 

Bakketun,  Anna,   150,  233 


392 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Bakketun,    Nils,    235 

Bakketun,  Ole,  236 

Bakli,    Kittil,   261 

Bakli,   Knut   K.,   261 

Bakli,   Mrs.  Ole,    186 

Barlien,    Hans,    108,    110,    123,    192, 

193,   197 

Barstad,  Ole  G.,   188 
Barton,    Ole,   342 
Bauge,   Thomas,    100 
Baura,    Mathias,   295 
Behrens,    Captain,    78,    100 
Beigo,  A.  T.,  217 
Bekkjorden,    Synnove  K.,  261 
Belgum,   Nils   O.,   343 
Bendixen,   Capt.,   267 
Benson,  John,   276 
Benson,   Ole,   277 
Berdahl,    EH    I.,    311 
Berdahl,    Ole,    273 
Bere,   Peder,   208 
Berg,    Ellef    A.,    260 
Berg,   Erik  K.,  218 
Berg,  Ingebrigt 
Berg,  Truls,  218 
Bergan,   Ole  L-,   371 
Berge,    Herbrand   H.,    212 
Berge,    John   I.,   285,    340,    341 
Berge,  Kari,  283 
Bergen,  Augun,  281 
Bergen,  Hans,   36 
Bergkvam,    Jens    B.,    307 
Bergland,  Gunhild,  254 
Bergrud,  Levor,    186 
Bergrud,  Torstein   L,.,    186 
Bergum,    Botolf    E.,    333 
Berry,    B.    K.,    168 
Bilden,   Nils,   90 
Bjaaland,    Thorsten    O.,    47,    55,    56, 

62,   101,   175,   177,   178,   181,  256 
Bjelde,  Johans  K.  See  Melaas,  J.  K. 
Bjelde,  Torsten  O.,   307 
Bjerva,  Anders  G.,   292 
Bjoin  (Bjaan),  Aanund  H.,  163,  278 
Bjoin,   Halvor,   279,   343,    348 
Bjono,   Goe,    138,    139 
Bjorgaas,   George  J.,    287 
Bjorgo,  John  H.,  62,   101,   113,   182 
Bjorndokken,  Anders  J.,  292 


Bjornson,  Bjorn,   50,  239 

Bjornson,   Ellef,    298 

Bjornson,  Gabriel,  260,  263 

Bjortuft,   Ragnild 

Bjortuft,    Thorgrim   O. 

Blakestad    (Skavlem),    G.    H.,    207 

Blegeberg,  Gunder  H. 

Bleie,   Sjur  S.,   352 

Bloom,    Captain,    301 

Bogstrandiet,  Ole  P.,  206 

Boley,    Ole,    343 

Bolstad,   Nils   L.,   62,    101,    113,    168- 

171,   174,   175,   181 
Borlang,    B.   J.,    344 
Borren,    Ole    B.    Anderson,    373 
Boyum,    Arne,    332 
Braaten,   Ole   O.,    343 
Brekketo,    Bjoin,    272 
Brenden,   Ole   T.,    343 
Brendingen,   Marthea,    214 
Brenna,   Hans  H.,    302 
Brimsoe,    Lars   L.,   93 
Bringa,  Ole,    269 
Bringa,   Tostein   G.,   245 
Broby,  Jacob   P.,   365 
Brock,    Captain,    310 
Brown,  Lewis,  40 
Bruavolden,  Ole,   203 
Bruavolden,   Sjur  T.,   202,   203 
Brudvig,  Ingebrigt,  100,   102 
Brunkow,   Mrs.   Martha,   304 
Brunsvold,    Ola,   217 
Brunsvold,  Asle,  217 
Braekke,  Anders  N.,   150 
Braekke,  Hellik  N.,   143,   145 
Braekke,    Knud,    150,    185 
Braekke-Eiet,   Halstein,    109,    110 
Buind,   Ole  A.,    186 
Bukaasa,    Hans,    294 
Buo,    Guttorm,    312 
Burtness,  John,    217 
Burtness,  Timan,   217 
Busness,  Kjittil,  278 
Bystolen,   Magne   B.,    150,    168-171 
Baskhus,  Alexander    O.,    252 
Baekhus,  John,    257 
Baekhus,  Tollef,  257 
Bo,  Baard   Lawson,   200 
Bo,  Christen   M.,   292 


INDEX 


393 


Bo,   Knut   L.,    182,    235 
B6,   Lars,   93 
Bo,   Michael,  93 

CALBERLANE,  Dr.  John  M.,  38,  39 

Campbell,    Mitchel,    167 

Cannteson,   Oliver,    57 

Carstensen,    Claes,    36,    57 

Cassem,    Nels    O.,    353 

Cassem,     Randall,     358 

Chelley,    Lars,    355 

Christensen,   Christian,    39 

Christiansen.    Hans,    348 

Clement,    Erik,    371 

Cleven,    Egil    O.,    283 

Clousen,    Rev.    C.    F.,    145 

Colley,   S.   G.,    137 

DAHL,    Endre    (Andrew),    47,    55,    59 

Dahl,    Ilalvor    E.,    260 

Dahl,   Knut,   346 

Dahlbotten,   F.otolf,     343 

Dahlbotten,    Jon    Michelson,    343 

Dahlbotten.    Martha.     343 

Dahlbotten,  Randi   Botolfsdatter,   343 

Dahle,  Johans,    276 

Dahle,   Hans    J.,    345 

Dahle,   Leif    J.,    338 

Dahle,   O.    B.,    280.    346,    347 

Dahle,   Svennung    X.,    331 

Dahlen,    Anders,   278 

Dalen,   Lars,   129 

Dale,  John   J.,    163,    283 

Dale,   Paul,   95 

Dale,   Sjur,   95 

Dalos,    Anon,    295 

Dalstiel,    Halvor   II.,    188 

Danielson,   Christopher,    96.    114 

Danielson,   Gitle,   120,  222,  224,  227 

Danielson,   Knud,    96 

Danielson,   Ole,   344 

Darnell,    Sarah,    113 

Dean,    Erastus,    136 

Dejean,    Joseph,    167 

Dietrichson,    Rev.    J.    \V.    C.,    87,   94, 

144,    185,    210,    313 
Djonne,   Torbjorn,   95 
Doksrud,    Halvor    II..    281 
Doksrud,   Halvor   I..   281 
Doksrud,   Ingebret    H.,    281 
Donstad,   Halvor,   254 


Downer,    Stephen,    137 

Doyle,    Simon,    231 

Droksvold,   Niels,    271 

Droksvold,  Ole,  271 

Droksvold,   Sjur  C.,  260,  271 

Drotning,   Aamund   O.,   248,   283 

Dugstad,   Brynhild,    207 

Dugstad,  Lars,    150,    175,    177,    179, 

180 

Dugstad,  Erik  K.,  207 
Dusterud,    Lars    B.,    340 
Dusterud,    Peder,    340 
Dykesten,    Lars    K.,    236 
Dyrland,    Ole   K.,   81,   85,   246 
Dyvik,   Ole,    101,    113 

EGERY,   Daniel  D.,    137,   205 

Eggum,   Anna    L.,    260 

Eggum,    Lars.    333 

Eide,   Knud   Olson,    44,    46,    49 

Eide,   Knud  Olson,   96 

Eide,   Ole    Thompson,    96 

Eielson,    Elling,    75,    156,     158,    161, 

278,    280,    347 
Einarson,    Nils,    342,    344 
Eiteklep,  Thorkel,   364 
Ellingsdatter,    Anna,    338 
Ellingson,   Elim,   8,   275,   276,   277 
Ellingson,   Elling,    207 
Ellingson,   Endre,    276 
Ellingson,   Magela,     207 
Ellingson,   Nils,    276 
Elseberg,    Gulbrand,    342 
Enerson,    Enert,    39 
Engebretson,    M.    J.,    8,    203 
Engbrigtsen,    Ole,    365 
Engen,    Aadne,    217,    218 
Engen,   Anders,    213,    267 
Engen,   Erik.    343 
Engen,   Hans,    213,    217 
Engen,   Marie,    213 
Enges?eter,   Erik,    331 
Engesjeter,   Michel   J.,   267,    269,    270 
Engesseter,  John,    331 
Erdahl,   Ingebrigt,    312 
Erdahl,  Johannes,    312 
Erdahl,    Nicolai,    312 
Erickson,   Mrs.     Martha,     239,     240 
Erickson,    Michael,    360 
Erickson,  Nils,    45,    47,    54 


394 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Espe,  Lars    O.,    352,   354 
Espeland,    Osten,    101,    114 
Espeseth,    Halvor   N.,   364 
Esterly,   George,   292 
Estrem,    Chr.    A.,    372 
Evans,    Dr.    N.    C.,    8,    9 
Evanson,  Christian,    346 
Evanson,  Ragnild,   346 
Evanson,  Christen,    218 
Evenson,  Hadle,    295 
Evenson,  Knut,    52 

FADNES,    Ragnild,    342 

Fagre,   G.   H.,  366 

Falk,   O.    N.,   9 

Farness,   Erik    C.,    331 

Farness,  Ole   H.,   331,  332 

Farness,  Truls  E.,   332 

Felland,   Gunder,   243 

Fellows,    Joseph,    48 

Fenne,  David    L-,    201,    202 

Fenne,   Ivar,   203 

Fenne,  Martha,    203 

Fenne,  Nils,    201,    202 

Fenne,  Per,     203 

Person,    Baron    Axel,    41 

Fingalpladsen,    Gunder,    129 

Finno,   Anders,    149,    150,   171 

Finseth,  A.    K.,    218 

Finseth,  Herbrand,    218 

Finseth,  Knut   K.,   218 

Fischer,    Captain,    310 

Fjeld,   Nils   H.,   87 

Fjose,    see    Kittilson 

Fjosne,   Anne,   295 

Flaarn,    Anders    J.,    306,    309 

Flage,    Anders,    150,    231 

Flatland,    Elling   O.,    268 

Flattre,   Thormod   S.,   285 

Fliseram,    Erik    S. 

Flittre,    Sjur,    295 

Flom,  Anders  O.,   266,   306 

Flom    (Flaam),   Ole  Torjussen,   265, 

266,   269,    270,    306,    309 
Flom,  Gulleik    T.,    266 
Flom,  Hans    T.,    309 
Flom,  Knut    T.,    266 
Flom,  Margrethe    A.,    219 
Flom,  M.    O.,    9 
Flom,  Ole  O.,   71,  266,  306 


Flom,  Torjus,    266 

Follmer,    George,    135 

Foslieiet,    Hellik,    187 

Foslien,   Even  F.,  208 

Fosseim,   Halvor   L-,   245 

Fosseim,   Ole  I,.,   246 

Fossum,    Hovel,   215 

Possum,    Ingebrigt,    214 

Frankrige,    Johan,    214 

Frankrige,   Sjugal,   215 

Friis,   Captain   Hans,   287 

Frondal,  John  J.,   307,   338 

Fruland,    Lars,    112 

Frye,    Simon,    360 

Froland,  Nils,    100,    112 

Froland,   Peder,   334,   336 

Froslie,  Bertha,    214 

Froslie,  Helene,   215 

Froslie,  Marit,   214 

Froslieit,  Hans  Engen,   214 

Fuglegjordet,     Ingebrigt,     203,     274, 

303 

Fuglestad,  Mrs.   Bertha,  239,  240 
Funkelien,    Halvor,    185 
Folie,  Ivar,    274 
Folie,  Joe,    274 
Folie,  Lars    O.,    274 

GAARDEN,    Forstein   T.,    188 

Gaarder,  Gudbrand,    213 

Gaarder,  Helene,    213 

Gaarder,  Ole,    214 

Gaarder,  Peter    H.,    213,    220,    222 

Gaarder,   Syver,    214,    220 

Gabriel,    Halvor,    348 

Gangsei,    Ole,   345 

Garden,    Ole    T.,    340 

Gasman,  Capt.   Hans,    297 

Gasman,  Capt.  Johan,  291,  297,  298 

Gilbertson,  Ole,    233 

Gilbertson,  Rachel,    134 

Gilderhus,  Anna,    150 

Gilderhus,  Nils     S.,      149,      168-170, 

174,    183,    185 
Gilderhus,  Ole    K.,     150,     181,     182, 

185,    233,    271 

Gilderhus,  Ole    S.,    152,    200 
Gilderhus,   Steffen  K.,   117,  233,  271 
Gjeirsme,    Peder    J.,    309 
Gjeirsme,  Torbjorn  O.,  309 


INDEX 


395 


Gjellum,  Joseph  J.,  305 

Gjellum,    Lars   G.,    307 

Gjellum,    Simon  A.,   307,  308 

Gjerde,  Johannes  L-,  312 

Gjerde,  Pe(de)r  L.,    184,  267,  270 

Gjerdene,    Jakob    I.,    268 

Gjerdet,    Jonas,    214 

Gjergjord,    Aslak   O.,    253 

Gjergjord,  Halvor  O.,  253 

Gjerstad,    Lars,    117,    126 

Gjilje,     Peter    O.,     192,     197 

Gjostein,    Knud,    150 

Claim,   Hellik,    143,    144,   364 

Glenna,    Halvor,   295 

Glimme,   Knut   I.,   236 

Goeranson,    Rev.    Andrew,    42 

Grane,  Lars,   207 

Grane,   Ole,    182 

Grane,  Rasmus,    182 

Grane,   Sjur,    207 

Grane,   Tollef,    295 

Grasdalcn,   Halvor   II.,   340,   341 

Grasdalen,  Nels  H.,  340 

Gravdal,   Gilbert,     145 

Gravdal,  Gullik    O.,     138,    139,    140, 

144,    222. 

Gravdal,  Ole,    144,    145 
Gravdal,   Tolce,    144,    145 
Gravdal,   Sarah,    145 
Grave,    Gro,    281 
Grellet,    Stephen,    76 
Gritnestad,    Klaus,    152,    200,    233 
Grimsgaard,     Lars,     217 
Grimsgaard,    Ole   K.,    366 
Grimsrud,    Helge    S.,    249,    250 
Grimsrud,     Sigurd,    249 
Grinde,    Botolf   J.,    305 
Grinde,   Ole  A.,   343 
Grinde,    Sjur,    332 
Grindemelum,    301 
Gromstu,   Torgus   T.,   41 
Gromstulen,    Peter    T.,   301 
Grov,    Erik    L.,    305 
Groven,    Aslak    E-,    246 
Groven,    H.    H.,    368,    371 
Grundstad,    G.    E.,    360 
Gronna,  Thomas  A.,   366 
Gronsteen,  Asberg,    292 
Gronsteen,    Johans,    292 
Gronsteen,  John,    292,    294 


Gronsteen,  Ole    T.,    291 

Groth,    Halstein,    365 

Grotrud,    Gunhild,    263 

Grotrud,   Nils   T.,   262 

Gudbrandson,    Erik,    206 

Gulack,    Tolee,    see    Gravdal 

Gulberg,    Arne 

Gulbrandson,    Gulbrand,    206 

Guldbrandson,    Kristi,    263 

Guldbrandson,     Mari,     186 

Gullikson,   Ole,   371 

Gulliksrud,   Torsten  Irigebrigtson,  111 

Gulseth,    Even,    295 

Gulvsdatter,    Martha,    307 

Gunale,    Mrs.,    139,    see    Odegaarden 

Gunderson,  Anders,     292 

Gunderson,    Ashley,    203 

Gunderson,   Tallak,   364 

Gunnulson,    Ole,    173 

Guttormson,    Guul,    220 

Guul,    Gultorm,    220 

Gvaale,  Johannes  J.,   338 

Gvaie,    Tollef   II.,    312 

HAAHEIM,    Sjur,    95 
Haaland,    Syver    O.,    295,    296 
Haatvedt,   Christoffer    S.,    293 
Haatvedt,   Even,    208 
Haatvedt,  Ole,    292 
Haatvedt,   Ole   A.,   208,   252 
Haave,   Erik    I.,    303 
Haave,  Elling,    273 
Haave,  Ingebriet,    273 
Haave,    Ivar    I.,    273 
Haavejohn    L-,    273 
Haave,  Lars  Jensen,   274 
Haave,   Lars    J.,    273,    274 
Haave,  Ole    L.,    273 
Ilaaverud,  Jul,   345 
Hadland,    Steinar   E-,   208 
Hadley,    Peter,    296 
Hage,    Samuel,    360 
Hall,    Ben,   360 
Hallan,    see    Ove    C.    Johnson 
Halland,    Gisle,    137,    138,    143 
Halringa,    Mons,    270 
Halsten,    Ever,   342,    343 
Halvorson,    Goodman,    356 
Halvorson,   Gunder    O.,     149 
Halvorson,  Halvor,    145,    298 


396 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Halvorson,  Mrs.    John,    263 
Halvorson,    Kleofas,   see   Hansemoen 
Halvorson,    Lars,    342,    345 
Halvorson,  Tallev 
Hamre,   Juul    G.,    187,    261 
Hansemoen,    Erik,    216 
Hansemoen,   Halvor  K.,   see  Kleofas 
Hansemoen,    Hans,   see   Husemoen 
Hansemoen,    Kleofas    H.,    216,    217, 

220 

Hansen,  Hans,  36 
Hanson,  Alex    H.,    154 
Hanson,  C.    F.,    154 
Hanson,    Claus,    293 
Hanson,    Hans,    292 
Hanson,   Ole,   364 
Hanson,  Ole   H.,    154 
Hanson,  Mrs.   W.   O.,    145 
Harald,    Fairhair,    83 
Harlow,   John,    167 
Harrison,    General,    201 
Harrisville,  Knud    K.,    237 
Harrisville,  Maren   K.,   238 
Harstad,  Kjogei,    281 
Harvig,    Henry   C.,    47,    54,    57 
Hasle,    Ovre,    302 
Haslerud,   Peter  P.,   344 
Hastvedt,  Peter    K.,    293 
Hastvedt,    Torger,    345 
Hatlestad,  Anna,   284 
Hatlestad,  Jens    O.,    284,    286 
Hatlestad,  O.   J.,   286 
Haugaas,    Gudmund,    47,    55,    57 
Haugan,    Knut,    283 
Hauge,   Anders,    368 
Hauge,    Halvor    N.,    347,    348 
Hauge,  Hans    Nielsen,    75,    279 
Haugen,  Andreas,    129 
Haugen,  Baard,    101,    113 
Haugen,    Engebret,    372 
Haugen,  Gjermund,    133 
Haugen,  Gunnul,    133 
Haugen,  Halvor    P.,    127,    128,    129, 

130 

Haugen,  Hans    G.,    127,    133 
Haugen,  Kjittil,   281 
Haugen,  Knut,    283 
Haugen,    Nils,   217,   222 
Haugen,  Ole,    43,    44 
Haugen,  Ole    O.,     188 


Haugen,    Ole    T.,    368 

Haugen,  Peder,    129 

Haugen,    Staale  T.,   368 

Haugerud,    Anfin   A.,   271 

Haugerud,     Lars,     129 

Haugholt,   Halvor  P.,  281,  282 

Haukaas,   Hans  O.,   338 

Haukelien,    Lars   P.,    260 

Haukness,  Ole,   332 

Haukom,    Ole    O.,    281,    283 

Havey,    see    Haeve,    Ole 

Havredalen,    Torbjorn,    188 

Hawkos,  Tollef  O.,  338 

Hayer,    A.,    115 

Hedejord,  Edward,    283 

Hedejord,  Liv,    283 

Hedejord,    Ole    O.,    283 

Hedle,    Knut   K.,    286 

Hedle,    Mathias,    286 

Hedle,  Peter,    286 

Hefte,  Bjorn,    295 

Hefte,    John    A.,    236 

Heg,    Even    H.,    159,    160,    161,    183, 

187,  201,  222,  246,   284 
Heg,  Hans  C.,   161,  284 
Heg,  Ole    E.,    284 
Hegglund,   Mrs.   Anna,   356 
Hei,    Ole,    217 
Heier,    Ole,    115 
Helgeson,    Erik,    297 
Helgeson,    Gjermund,    192 
Helgeson,   Peter,   365 
Helgeson,    Tore,    206 
Helle,  Ingebrigt  J.,   81,   227,   251 
Helle,  Metta,   45 
Helle,  Thomas,    45 
Hemsing,    Ole   H.,    312 
Hemsing,    Ole   O.,    312 
Henderson,  Bryngel,    236 
Hendricks,  Annecken,    37 
Hendricks,  Helletje,   36,   37 
Hendrickson,   Charles,   341 
Hendrickson,   Christian,   202,   341 
Hendrickson,    Henry,    341 
Herbrandson,   Ole,   363 
Herre,    Nils,    295 

Hersdal,  Cornelius    N.,    46,    54,    55 
Hersdal,  Nels   N.,   47,    56,    59 
Hesgard,    Halvor,   217,   218 
Hesla,  Asle,   217 


INDEX 


397 


Hesla,    Svend    E-,    217 
Hetletvedt,  Jacob   O.,    192,   197 
Hetletvedt,   K.    O.,   92 
Hetletvedt,   Ole    Olson,    47,    56,     57, 

59,    62,    89,    355 
Hidle,    see   John   Hill 
Hilbeitson,   Erik,    206 
Hilbeitson,  Jas.,    206 
Hill,  John,   93,    355,    356 
Himle,    Ammund,    334 
Himle,    Odd    J.,     101,     113,     168-171, 

310,   334 

Hippe,   Ole   H.,   312 
Hiser,    Lena,     132 
Hoff,    Arne,    343 
Hoff,    Harald,    343 
Hogenson,   Ole,    159 
Holgerson,    Gunnel,    206 
Holland,    Bjorn,   295 
Holland,    E.    S.,    357 
Holmes,  Joshua,    135 
Holmes,  Thomas,    135 
Holmes,   William,    135 
Holo,    Lars   J.,    153,   262 
IIolo,    Martin,    262 
Holt,    Bredo,    364 
Holt,   Daniel,   347 
Holt,   Jens,    364 
Holtan,  Gudbrand   G.,    261 
Holtan,  Hellek    O.,    212 
Holtan,   Levor,    259,    260 
Holtan,  Nils  T.,   263 
Holtan,  Ole,  248 
Holtan,   Ole    G.,    261,    262 
Holton,   Levi,    see    Levor    Holtan 
Holum,    Ole    S.,    332 
Holutn,    Stephen,    332 
Holven,    Aslak,    96 
Homme,   Rev.    G.,    284 
Homme,  John,    284 
Homstad,    Mathias,    286 
Homstad,    Ole,    286 
Hornefjeld,     Amund     Anderson,     92, 

175,    176,    179,    256 
Hougen,    John    O.,    251 
Hovdelien,    Ole,    215 
Hove,  Erik    E.,    201,    203 
Hove,  Iver,    69 
Hovland,    Gjert,    52,    56,   61,    62,    80, 

83,  222 


Hovland,    Halvor    N,    354 
Hoyme,   Christoffer  T. 
Hulderoen,    see    Tellefson 
Hundere,    Anders    S.,    312 
Hundkjiolen,    Jens,    281 
Husebo,   Ole  I.,   267,   269,   270 
Husebo,    Synneva,    247 
Husemoen,    Hans,   216,    217 
Husemoen,    Kari,    217. 
Huset,  Halvor,    291 
Huset,  Ole,    291 
Huset,   Tollef  Gunnufson,  281 
Husevold,   John,   281 
Hustad,    Knut,    364 
Hustvedt,   Bjorn   O.,    254 
Hustvedt,    Bjorn    S.,    254 
Husvseret,    Torkild,    302 
Hvasshovd,   Gunder    G.,    186 
Hvasshovd,    Hellik    G.,    186 
Ilydle,    Sjur,    295 
Hylle,    Knud   J.,    152,    200,   201 
Hoeve,  Henrik  O.,   248,   271 
Hreve,   Ole,    248 
Hogstul,   Osmond    O.,    295 
Hogstul,  Tostein    II. ,    295 
Hoverstad,    Rev.    Helge,    8 

INDB^EGGEN,  Even  T.,  338 
Ingebretson,  Erik,  39 
Ingebretson,   Gaute,   81,   250 
Ingebretson,   Lucas,    292 
Ingusland,    Osten,    281 
Inman,   Mrs.    C.    E.,    145 
Inman.'John,    135 
Isakson,    Guru,    208 
Isham,    Chauncey,    167 

verson,   Captain,    41 

verson,   Cathrine,    58 

verson,   Halvor,    47 

verson,    Lars    (Medaas),   372 

verson,   Lewis,    248 
Iverson,   Ole,    248 
Iverson   (of  Georgia),   Senator,   41 

JACOBSON,    Rev.    A.,    8,    70,    369,    370 
Jacobson,   Anders,   205 
Jacobson,    Henry,    Mrs.,    207 
Jacobson,  Ole,  8,  300,  301 


398 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Jacobson,  John,    163 

Jacobson,  Peter,   285 

Jansen,   Eric,    74 

Jeglum,    Lars,    366 

Jellarviken,    Halvor,    120 

Jensen,   Captain,   96 

Jensvold,   Hovel,   214 

Jermo,    Marie    L-,    113 

Jevne,  Ole  G.,  368 

Johanneson,  Johannes,   156,  158,   160 

Johnson,  Andrew,    231 

Johnson,  Aufin,    231 

Johnson,  Baard,    95,    231 

Johnson,  Baruld,    261 

Johnson,  David,    232 

Johnson,  Ellef,   303 

Johnson,    Fingar,    364 

Johnson,  George,  47,   56 

Johnson,  Gjermund,  see  Kaasa 

Johnson,  Ingeborg,    179 

Johnson,  Isak,    202 

Johnson,  John,    231 

Johnson,  John    A.,    227 

Johnson,  John   E-,   308 

Johnson,  J.    W.,    8,    282 

Johnson,    Lars,    348 

Johnson,   Michael,    343,   344 

Johnson,  Nels,  369,  see  Kaasa 

Johnson,  Ole,  47,   54 

Johnson,  Ove   C. 

Johnson,  Sjur 

Johnson,   Syver,   203,   302 

Johnson,  Thomas,    40 

Johnson,   Torris,   357 

Jone,   Ole,   334 

Jones,  John  Paul,   40 

Jones,  Milo,    135 

Jordgrev,    Kittil,    294 

Juul,   Rev.    E.    P.,   306 

Juve,  Knut  A.,  83,  244,  245,  246 

Jaeger,    Knut,    365 

Jorandlien,    Tarald,    213 

Jorlien,    see    Jorandlien 

Jordre,    Nils   L-,    100 

KAASA,   Gjermund   O.,   222 

Kaasa,  Gjermund  Johnson,   120,   121, 

158,    369 

Kaasa,  Jens  O.,  see  Olson 
Kaasa,  Jorgen,    272 


Kaasa,  Kittil   O.,   272 

Kaasa,  Nils   Johnson,    120,    158,    285 

Kaasa,  Ole,    235,    272 

Kaasa,  Thor  O.,   186,  235,  272,   274 

Kaasne,   Jacob,   295 

Kalberlahn,    Catharine,    39 

Kallerud,    Bergit    N.,    130 

Kasberg,  Rev.  K.  A.,  8,  187,  261,  263 

Kearney,   Philip,    167 

Keen,    Andrew,    42 

Kirkejord,   Thore   H.,    128,    134,    137 

Kirkejord,   Torsten   H.,    128,    130 

Kittilson,  Levi,    259,    262 

Kittelson,   Ole,    300 

Kittilsland,  Ole  T.,  363 

Kjonaas,    Ole,    120 

Kjylaa,    Sven,    197 

Kjolen,    Halvor,   260 

Kjosvik,    Hans  J.,   338 

Kleiva,    Johannes,    273 

Kleofas,  Halvor,    217 

Kleofas,  Knud,    217 

Klevmoen,   Helene,   213 

Klomset,   Sven  S.,  281 

Klove,  Lars,  295 

Knit,    Rognald   J.,    307 

Knudson,  Gullik,   141,    142 

Knudson,  Tollef,    282 

Knutson    (Springen),    Gunder,    146 

Knutson,    Mikkel,    338 

Knutson,  Oliver,   57 

Kolskett,  Michel,  343 

Kolsrud,    Erik,    217 

Kosa,   Anne,   291 

Kossin,    John,    281 

Kostvedt,  Aslak,   243 

Kostvedt,  Halvor,  252,  253 

Kravik,  Halvor,  187,  261,  263 

Kravik,    Lars   C.,   263 

Kristensen,    Knut,    143 

Kristian   IV,    King   of   Denmark,    35 

Kroken,  Mathias  H.,   281 

Krolcen,    Ole    H.,     120 

Krostu,  Rev.  G.  G.,  8 

Kvale,  Rev.  O.  J.,  8 

Kvamodden,    Nils,    9,    300 

Kvarma,   Sjur  K.,  207,  209 

Kvarma,   KolKein,   209 

Kvarve,    Levor,    218 

Kvarve,   Tideman,   218 


INDEX 


399 


Kvelve,   see   Anderson 
Kvendalen,    Lars,    179,    180 
Kvendalen,    Nils,    181 
Kvisterud,  Knud  S.,   283,   340,  341 
Kvisterud,   Ole,   340 

LAFLIN,    Mathew,    157 
Land,   Ellef,   371 
Land,   Lars,  371 
Landeman,   Thomas   J.,    188 
Landsverk,   Johan,   278,   279 
Landsverk,    Ole,    279 
Landsverk,    Peder   J.,    278 
Langeland,    Knud,    48,    93,    97,     112, 

157,    284,    335,    336,    348 
Langeland,   Malina,    112 
Langeland,   Nils  P.,  97,  99,   101,   110, 

112 

Langeland,   Dr.     Peter,     285 
Langemyr,    Lars,    342 
Langeteig,    Anders,    335 
Larsen,    Bendik,   373 
Larson,   Erik 
Larson,   Rev.    G.    A.,    8 
Larson,   Georgiana,     46 
Larson,   Gundt-r,    134 
Larson,    Haakon,    349 
Larson,    Ivar,    372 
Larson,  Johan,   95,   231 
Larson,  John,    285 
Larson,   Knud 
Larson    i    Jeilane,    Lars,    45,    46,    49, 

50,    60,    76,    91 
Larson,   Mrs.   Louis  O.,    132 
Larson,   Mary,    148,    303 
Larson,   Ole,   309 
Larson,   Sara,    47 
Larson,    Svend,    204 
I.autren,    G.,    see    Springen 
Laugen,    Trond,    373 
Lawrence,   Ole,   349 
Lawson    (Larson)    Canute,    232 
Lawson,   Iver,     112,    232,    237 
Lawson,   Victor   F.,    113 
Lee,  Andrew    E-,    185 
Lee,   Christian,    238 
Lee,   Erik,    185 
Lee,    Johan,    350 
Lee,   Lars    J.,    295 
Lee,  Ole  Aslak 


Leidal,    Anfin,    149 
Lekvold,   Ole   S.,   366 
Leland,    Brynjulf,    310 
Lenaas,    O.    O.,    259 
Lenvick,    Ole,    347 
Lia,  John,    298 
Lia,   Ole,    294,    298 
Lia,   Mathias,    295 
Lie,   Anders    N.,    182,    183,    184 
Lie,   Brynild   L.,   207 
Lie,    Haaken,    308,    310 
Lie,  Johannes,    276 
Lie,   Lars    O.,    207,    208 
Lie,  N.    A.,    8,    150,    183 
Lien,   Bjorn,   294 
Lien,    Ilenrik,    309 
Lien,    Lars,    173 
Lien,    Levor,   343 
Lien,    Tone,    244 
Lier,   Knut    O.,    260,    261 
Lier,   I^ars,    173 
Lier,   Ole,    174 
Lillebaek,    Hans,    303 
Lillebaek,   Kari,    302 
Lima,    Simon,    47 
Lindelien,    Knut  J.,   343 
Loe,  Ole,  312 
Lofthus,  Olav  0.,   95 
Lohner,    Ilalvor    N.,    120 
Lommen,   Andrew   A.,   368 
Lommen,   O.    A.,    368,    371 
Losen,    John    S.,    Sr.,    373 
Losen,    John    S.,    Jr.,    373 
Lothe,    Svein    K.,    95,    231 
Loven,   Tohanne  M.,   307 
Loven,   Peder  M.,   307 
Lund,   Iver,   343 
Lund,   Paul,    261 
Lund,    Svend   L.,    312 
Lunde,   Christian,    149 
Lunde,  Gulleik,    292 
Lunde,   Gunder    II.,    291 
Lunde,   Halvor    A.,    292 
Lunde,   Osmund,    243,    252 
Lundene,    Anders,    343 
Lundsaster,    Anders,    213 
Lundsaeteren,    Osten,    215 
Luraas,    Ilalvor   O.,    120,    158,   311 
Luraas,   John    N.,    68,    70,    120,    158, 
167,   222,   241,    242,    249 


400 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Luraas,   Knut   N.,    120,    158 
Luraas,  Nils  J.,  249 
Luraas,  Torger  0.,    120,   158 
Lybffik,    Bertha,    214 
Lybzek,   Johans,    214 
Lydvo,   Knud,   117,    126,    149 
Lydvo,    Nils,    126,    149 
Lydvo,    Ole,    117,    126,    149 
Lydvo,    Randver,    235,    236 
Lyse,   Gilbert  C.,   368 
Lysenstoen,    Halvor    L,.,    163 
Lokken,  Hans,    286 
Lokken,  Ole,    286 
Lokken,   Peter,    286 
Lokken,  Tyke    H.,    286 
Lonflok,    Halvor    T.,    120 
Lonning,    Amund,    353 
Lonning,  Gertrud,  352 

MAAKESTAD,   Helge  H.,   352 
Maakestad,    Omund    Helgeson    (Hil- 

leson),  95,  351,  352 
Maakestad,  Torgels,  see  Newton 
Maanem,   Tore,  343 
Maaren,   Gunuld  K.,  281 
Maaren,    Sondre    N.,    278 
Madland,  Thomas,  46,  54,  56,  57,  58 
Mandt,   Gunnar  T.,   82,   246,   247 
Mans,     Martha,    39 
Markoe,   Abraham,   41,   42 
Marsett,    Peter    C,    58 
Mason,   C.   M.,   295 
Mastre,    Nils   E.,   251 
Mathieson,  Halvor,    295 
Mathieson,  Helge,    120 
Maurset,    Peder    J.,    100 
Mayhew,   Wm.    M.,    166 
Medaas,    see    Iverson 
Megaarden,    Kristen,    217 
Melaas,   Kristen  L-,   267 
Melaas,    Kristi,    227,    268 
Melaas,    Johans    K.,    269 
Melaas,    Mons    L-,    267 
Melaas,    Ole    A.,    269,    270 
Melaas,   Mrs.   Ole,   312 
Meland,    Helge,    203 
Meland,  Osten  G.,  278 
Melland,    Harald,    303 
Menes,    Ole   O.,    69,    70,    81,    310 


Midboe,    Tarald    E.,    260 
Midboen,    Anders,    213 
Midboen,  Erick  G.,   110,   111 
Midboen,    Gunder   G.,    Ill 
Midthus,    Svein   L.,    100 
Milebon,    Hans  A.,    290 
Milesten,    Halvor    O 
Mills,    Dennis,    137 
Mitchell,    Franklin,    137 
Mitchell,  John   S.,    58 
Mo,    Olav   L.,   234 
Modum,   Halvor,   287 
Modum,    Thov,    208 
Moe,    Peder    H.,    260 
Mogen,    Kari   G.,   228 
Moland,    Kittil 
Molee,  John  E-,    120,    163 
Monsdatter,   Ragnhilde,   307 
Monson,    Mons,    373 
Munk,  Jens,   35,   36 
Munson,  Henry,  356 
Murray,    William    S 
Mygstue,   Gullik  O.,   211,  212 
Mygstue,   Ole,   212 
Myhra,    Gudbrand,    128,    130 
Myhra,   Jens   G.,    128,    130,    132 
Myhre,    Ole,    278 
Myren,   Ole,  284 
Myrkeskog,   Edlend,   277 
Myrkeskog,   Ole,  277 
Mon,   L,ars  J.,    182 
Morkvold,   Bjorn  G.,    186 
Morkvold,  Ole  H.,    186 

NAAS,   Knut   K.,   332 
Narum,    Nels   H.,    281,   282 
Narverud,    Syvert    I.,    159 
Narvig,  Ingebrigt  Larson,  52,53,  114 
Natesta(d),   Henry,  8,   132 
Nattestad,  Ansten,  84,  108,  110,  116, 

118,    127,   132,    133,    138,   205,   224, 

227 

Nattestad,  Charles,   132 
Nattestad,    Eliza,    131 
Nattestad,  James,    132 
Nattestad,  Knud,  132 
Nattestad,  Ole,  67,  84,  102,  108,  109, 

110,   116,   127,   132,   133,   135,   137, 

205 


INDEX 


401 


Nederhaugen,    Erik,    213 

Neclerhaugen,   Johans,   214 

Nelson,   Aad,    197 

Nelson,    Carrie,   55,   56,   58 

Nelson,    Christ,    193 

Nelson,   Groe,    144,    145 

Nelson,    Mrs.    Gustav,    134 

Nelson,    Mrs.    Ingeborg,    296 

Nelson,    Inger,    58,    151 

Nelson,    Ira,    59 

Nelson,  Jocum,   373 

Nelson,   Mrs.  Julia,   235 

Nelson,  Knute,  297 

Nelson    (Brekkc),    Lars,    346,    349 

Nelson,    Martha,    58 

Nelson,    Nels,    58 

Nelson,    Nils,    193 

Nelson,    Peter,    59 

Nelson,   I'eter,   235 

Nelson,    Peter    C.,    58 

Nelson,    T.,     128,     134 

Nelson,    T.    T.,    134 

Ness,    Halvor,    217 

Ness,  Mons,   345 

Newhouse,    see    Nylvis 

Newton,   T.   M.,   8,    352,   353 

Nicholson,    Henry,    233 

Nicholson,    John    Ci.(    233 

Nilsen,    Ole,    292 

Nilson,    F.    O.,    76 

Nilson,    Halvor,    92 

Nilson,    Ilermo,    162,    278,    279,    280, 

347 

Nilson,    Nels,    279 
Nilson,    Prof.    Svein,   67,   256 
Nilson,    Thorstein,    205 
Nirison,    Kittil,    237 
Nisson,   Halvor,   281 
Noorman,   Claes,   63 
Noorman,    Hans,    36 
Nordboe,   Johan,   52,    122,    153 
Nordb6,    Harald,   294 
Nordbo,   Hans,   294 
Nordby,    Rev.    J.    S. 
Nord-Fossum,  Lars,  213 
Nordgaarden,  Gjermon  T. 
Nordvig,  Anders,  100,   112 
Nordvig,    Ingehrigt,    101 
Nore,     Gjertrud,     256 
Nore,    Gro,    256 


Nore,    Lars,    185 
Nore,    Knud,    185 
Nore,    Ole,    185 
Nore,    Saebjorn,    185 
Nore,    Tore    K,    185,    255 
Norman,   see  Baekhus 
Nubbru,    Even,    109 
Numedal,  Anders  II.,  273 
Numedal,  Endre  II.,  273 
Nummeland,    Ole,    282,    298 
Nyhus,  Kittil,   128,   130,  206,  208 
Nyhus,     Kristoffer,     128,     130,      134, 

137,    208 

Nyhus,   Ole   C.,    206,    208 
Nyre,    Baard,    152,    233 
Nxs,    Peter,    298 
Nseset,    Aadne    E-,    246 
Naeset,    Ingebrigt,    309 
Na.-set,   Jens  J.,    309,   311,   312 
Naeset,  Johannes  J.,   309,  311 
Nsset,    John    J.,    309 
Naeset,    Ole    E.,    246 
Nrcseth,  Gunder  K.,   300 
Naeshaug,   see   Wilson,   207 
Nsestestu,  Asmund  A.,   253 
Norstelien,  Christine,  214 
Norstelien,   Ole,   214 
Norstelien,    Svend,    302 
Nosterud,    Margit,     140 

OFFERDAL,    Hermund    O.,    305 
Olmstead,   Benson   C.,   59 
Olmstead,   Charles  P,.,   59 
Olmstead,    George,    58 
Ollis,   John,   333 
Olsdatter,    Bergit,    163 
Olsdatter,   Guro,    188 
Olson,    Aase,    284 
Olson,   Ambjor,    130 
Olson,    Borre 
Olson,    Christian,   52,    57 
Olson,    Christie,    148 
Olson,    Christoffcr,   287 
Olson,    Eilif,    338 
Olson,    Ellen,    113 
Olson,  Gudbrand,   206 
Olson,   Ingeborg,   284 
Olson,  James  W.,  59 
Olson,  Jens,    235,   272 
Olson,   John    T.,    287 


402 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Olson,   Lars,   45,  46,    54,   109 

Olson,  Leif,  344 

Olson,   Nils,    192 

Olson,   Olaf,   349 

Olson,   Ole  T.,   92 

Olson,  Ole  Vendelbo,  269,  270 

Olson,   Oramund,    192 

Olson,   Porter  C.,   59 

Olson,  Salve,  373 

Olson,  Soren  L-,  59 

Olson,    Thorsten,   see   Bjaaland 

Olson,   Tosten,   291 

Omli,  Mikkel,  368,  371 

Ommelstad,   Harald,   213 

Ommedstarssekeren,  Johannes,  214 

Onsgaard,   Ole,  218 

Opdahl,   Knut,   369,   371 

Opsal,   Gunder   C,   292 

Opsal,   John    C,    291 

Opsal,   Nils,   292 

Orsland,  Canute,   118 

Orsland,   Hallock,    118 

Orsland,   Harry   B.,    118 

Ortzland,    Anna   M.,    359 

Orvedal,    Ole   J.,    274 

Osmond,  Mrs.  Austin,  93,  355 

Osmond,    Herman    A.,    94 

Osmonson,    Herman,   355 

Osmundson,   Isabella,    154 

Osuldson,    Bertie,    364 

Overholt,    Nils  J.,    301 

Overson,    Frank,    283 

Overson,    Ole,    see    Haukom 

Overvind,    Captain,    260 

Ovestrud,    Erik,    218 

PAASKE,     Alexander,     43 

Patterson,    Torgen,    147 

Paulson,    Hovel,    148 

Paulson,   Sakarias,  42 

Pederson,    Gunild,    282 

Pederson,   Guro,   312 

Peerson,    Kleng,   44,    46,    48,    49,    53, 

55,    62,    101,    117,    125,    190,    191, 

192,    239 

Peerson,    Samuel,    92 
Person,    C,    193 
Person,    Georgiana,    46 
Peterson,    Frank,    43 
Peterson,  Mrs.  Holger,  365 


Peterson,  John,  360 
Peterson,   Nels,  349 
Peterson,    O.    P.,    78 
Pond,    Daniel,    167 
Pratt,   Oscar  H.,    137 
Prentice,  John,    167 
Prestegaard,    Nils,    143 
Preus,   Rev.  A.  C.,   338 
Puttekaasa,  Christen,  297 

QUALA,   Johannes   J.,   285 
Quale,    Ellend   T.,    312 
Quale,    Iver   P.,   369 
Quale,  John  J.,   368 
Quamme,   Hans   H.,   333 
Quammen,   Aslak  E.,   312 
Quammen,  Ole  L-,  312 


,  Tarald 
Ramstad,  Helge,   364 
Rasdall,   Abel,    166 
Reierson,   Johan   R.,   86,   87 
Reierson,    Ole,    192 
Reinke,   Abraham,   39 
Rekve,   Lars  D.,   149,    150,    181,    199, 

271 

Reque,   Reverend   L.   S.   J.,   337,   338 
Reque,  Sjur  S.,  335 
Rice,  J.  G.,   372 
Richey,  Will   F.,   59 
Richey,  William  W.,   59 
Richolson,    Lars,    115 
Rime,    Henrik,    217 
Rime,    Tollef,    217 
Rinden,    Kittil,    243,    244 
Rio,   Erik  V.,   271 
Rio,    Knut   T.,    295 
Rio,    Torstein,    296,    297 
Risetter,    Haakon,    354 
Risetter,   Lars,   352,   353 
Robertson,    David,    167 
Roe,  Anne,  242,   248 
Roe,   Hans,   297 
Roe,    Helleik,    248 
Roe,    Knut    H.,    154,    162,    167,    241, 

242,   243,   248 
Roe,   Nils,   217 
Roen,  Guttorm,  217 
Roen,    Ole,    217 
Rogde,    Jacob    O.,    354 
Rokne,    Knut   E.,    152,   200,   271 


INDEX 


403 


Rom,    Bjorn   O.,   260 

Romoren,   Sjur   I.,   305 

Ronve,    Brynjulf,    152,    200,    233 

Rosholt,   Halvor,    297 

Rosholt,    Jacob,    297 

Ross,  Mrs.   Eric,  240 

Rossadal,  Daniel  S,  46,  56,  59,  90 

Rossadal,  Johan   S.,   90 

Rossadal,  Ove   S.,   90 

Rosseland,   Amund,    100,    177 

Rosseland,   Sjur  E-,    100 

Rostad,    Kristopher,    147 

Rostad,    Lars,    148 

Roswall,   Ingebret,   286 

Rosoino,    Peder,    120 

Rothnem,  Ole  L-,  366 

Rotkjon,  Aslak   B.,    187 

Rotkjon,    Richard    B.,    187 

Rue,    John,    192 

Rue,   John    N.,    110 

Rue,    Kittil,    365 

Rue,    Thorstein,    192,    197. 

Rue,  Thorstein  T.,    125 

Rue,   Mrs.  Thorstein  T.,   102.   197 

Rue,  Tosten  Thompson,  340 — Thor 
stein  Thorson  Rue,  see  above 

Rustad,  Abraham,   364 

Rustad,   Aslak,    217 

Rust,    Mikkel,    217 

Rund,    Halvor,    214 

Rund,   Kittil  O.,  219 

Rund,   Margit,   219 

Rygh,    Halvor,    Sr.,    360 

Rynning,    Rev.    Jens,    107 

Rynning,  Ole,  85,  1UO,  102,  103,  107, 
118,  122,  199,  283 

Roisland,    Talleef,    282,    298 

Rolje,    Donant,    264 

Ronningen,    Abraham   K.,   260 

Ronningen,    Anders   Jacobson,    281 

Ronningen,  Erick   K.,   260 

Ronningen,   Torbjorn    K.,   260 

Roste,  Arne,   343 

R6ste,    Lars,    139,    213 

Rothe,  Lars  T.,   152,  200,   233 

Rothe,   Nils,   62,   95,   231,   236 

Rothe,    Torbjor,    231 

SAAMANDSDATTER,   Gunhild,    188 
Sagdalen,    218 


St.   John,    Samuel,    136 

Sakrison,    Simon,    295 

Salveson,  Engelbret,  297 

Salveson,   Halvor,   297 

Sampson,    Samuel,    8,    337 

Sandanger,   Endre   P.,    371 

Sande,   Joe,    276 

Sanden,    Embrigt 

Sanden,   Ole,   364 

Sanderson,   Erik,   219 

Sanderson,    Ole,    280 

Sando,   Ole,   217 

Sandsberg,    Andreas,   69 

Sandsberg,  Gudmund,   51,   57,  69,  70 

Sandsberg,   Marie,   51 

Sane,  Gulleik  T.,   171,  200,   233,  264 

Sane,   Kolbein   O.,    101,    113 

Sane,  Lars,  200 

Sane,   Styrk   O.,   101,   113,  264 

Sane,    Torstein,    200,    233 

Savig,   Erick  J.,   92 

Savig,    Ingeborg,    92 

Savik,  Anne  B.,   178 

Savik,    Erik,    177,    178,    179 

Savik,   John,    178 

Scheldal,    Lars,    360 

Scheldal,    Rasmus,    360 

Schaerdalen,  Ole,   265 

Scofftedt,   Mrs.    Martin,    132 

Sebbe,   Ilenrik   E.,    78,   92 

Seim,    Anfin   J.,    266,    267,    270 

Seim,    Nils   T.,   267,   270 

Selseng,   Nils   O.,   312 

Selseng,    Ole,    268 

Selseng,    O.    P.,    252 

Selseng,   Thorstein    T.,   268,    311 

Severts,    Lewis,   207 

Severtson,    Ellef    G.,    236 

Severtson,    Ole,    207 

Shelby,    Halvor,    338 

Sherburne,  John  Henry,  40,  41 

Sherping,    Kristen,    312 

Sherping,   Per,    312 

Shipley,    Ole,    207 

Sigurdson,    Helge,    163 

Simerson,    Simon,    70 

Simon,    Knut,    219 

Simons,    William    G.,    167 

Simonson,    Andrew,    125,    191,    192 

Simonson,    Tollef,    369,    371 


404 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Sjurson,    Ole,   295 

Sjutvett,  Ole,  341 

Skaalen,    Ole,    217 

Skare,   Halvor   O.,   285 

Skarie,    J.    H.,   287 

Skarshaug,   Ingbret,  364 

Skavlem,    Bessie,    145 

Skavlem,    Erik,    128 

Skavlem,    Gullik,    143,    144 

Skavlem,    Halvor    L.,    9,     143,     145, 

146,    205 

Skavlem,    Karl.    143 
Skavlem,    Lars    H.,     141,     143,     144, 

145,    206 

Skavlem,  Ole,    143 
Skavlem,    Paul    H.,    143,    145,    206 
Skeie,  Lars  G.,  100,  175 
Skinrud,    Erik    O.,    343 
Skipnes,    Anders   J.,    290 
Skjerve,   Knut   S.,  285,  287 
Skjerveim,      Peder     Davidson,      152, 

199,    200,    201,    202,    232 
Skofstad,  Johannes  E.,   159 
Skogen,   Christian  O.,   342 
Skogen,    Nils,    342 
Skotland,  Tore  P.,  371 
Skuldt,   Ole,   345 
Skutle,   Ole,  208 
Skutle,   Thorbjorn,    337,    338 
Slettene,   Aslak   R.,   301 
Slinde,  Ole  A.,  see  Melaas,  O.  A. 
Slogvig,    Jacob    A.,    47,    55,    57,    84, 

128,    193,    196,    197 
Slogvig,    Knud    A.,    47,    55,    56,    61. 
62,   63,   84,   91,   97,    111,    125,    192, 

197. 

Slaeen,    Erik   E-,   208 
Smeby,    Hovel,    214 
Smeby,   Ole,  215 
Smed,  see  Syver  Johnson 
Smedsrud,    Engebret,  302 
Smedsrud,   Johannes   E.,   302 
Smedsrud,  Mathias,  302 
Smehogen,  Johannes,  302 
Smekaasa,   Anders,   281 
Smetbok,   Niels  O.,   186 
Smith,  John   G.,    181 
Smithbak,  Tore  E.,  259 
Solem,   John    E.,    216 


Solem,  Knud  E.,  216 

Solheim,    Anna,    182 

Solvi,   Erik,   341 

Sondal,    Lena,    207 

Sonde,  Ole,   364 

Sonve,    Mads,    152,   200,   233 

Soppeland,  Ole,    193 

Spaanem,   Kathrine 

Spaanem,   Tore  T.,    340 

Spears,   Robert,    168 

Spilde,  Lars,  234 

Spillom,   ElHng,  286 

Spillom,    Hendrik,    286 

Spillom,   Mikkel,    286 

Spillom,   Ole,   286 

Springen,   Gullik,    141,    142,   206 

Stabaek,    Clemet   T.,    147,   209,   222 

Stabaek,  Helen,  209 

Stabaek,   Narve,    149 

Stabaek,   Torsten   K.    O.,    147 

Stadhem,   Andrew   O.,   273 

Stadhem,    Johanna,    276 

Stadhem,    Ole,    273 

Stake,    Arne    K.,    366 

Stalsbraaten,    Klemet    L,.    261 

Stalsbraaten,    Halvor,    261 

Stamm,   ElHng,   345 

Stangeland,  Andrew,   47,   54,    118 

Steen,    Severine    Catherine,    107 

Steenhjerde,    Ole   N.,    305 

vSteensland,    Halle,    349 

Stene,   Ivar  J.,   307 

Stene,  Johannes,  47 

Stewart,  Samuel  T.,  166 

Stille,  John,    42,   43 

Stokkebcrg,   Susanna,   39 

Stondal,  Bjcirn  A.,  254,  283 

Stordok,  Gunnul,   141,  142,   146,  148, 

211 

Stordok,  Halvor,    129,   211 
Slordok,   Inge,   211 
Stordok,   Knud,   211 
Stordok,    Ole,   211 
Storlag,  Ole  O.,  366 
Storlie,   Ole   O.,   281 
Strandskongen,  Baruld  J.,  260 
Stub,  Hans  A.,  287 
Stubberud,   Halvor  J.,  260 
Stundal,    Sjur   O.,   307 
Sube,  Htfge  O.,  263 


INDEX 


405 


Sunclbo,  Gunleik  T.,  245 

Sunde,  Gjermund  K.,   172,   173 

Sunve,  Maline,  203 

Sunve,   Nils,   203 

Svalestuen,  Gunleik  O.,   338 

Svalestuen,   Knud,   85,    159 

Svartskuren,    Carl,    257 

Svartskuren,   Peder   L.,  256,  261 

Svensrud,    Gullik,    341 

Svimbil,  Thore  K.,  110,   111 

Svinalie,   Erik,    120 

Swerge,   Peder   H.,   291 

Sa:labakka,   Gjertrud   O.,    186 

Ssre,   Sjur   M.,   236 

Saeter,    Ingebrigt,    129 

Sogal,  Andrea,  289 

Sogal,    Anne,    289 

Sogal,    Johanne,    289 

Sogal,    Karen,    289 

Sogal,    Kari,    289 

Sogal,    Ole    A.,    289 

SGrum,  Andreas,  214 

Sorum,    Bertha,    215 

Sorum,   Soren,   213,   363,   365 

Sotholt,   Anmnd    S.,    281 

Sotholt,    Soren    S.,    281 

TAASINGE,    Andreasen,    42 

Tallakson,   Lars,   94,    192,    193,    197 

Tamnes,    Christen 

Tangen,    Mary,    134 

Tangen,    Peder   A.,    224 

Tasker,  Daniel,    137 

Tastad,   KHas,   45,   76 

Teigen,  Dr.    K.   M.,   228 

Teigen,    Lars  J.,    301 

Teigen,  Ole  C.,   312 

Teisberg,   Knut   H.,   248,   254 

Tellefson,  Charlie  C,  263 

Tellefson    (Tollefson)    Kjostolf,    260, 

263 

Tenold,  Ole  O.,  273 
Tenold,   Ole    P.,    274 
Tesman,    Hans,    192 
Tesman,   Peter,   192 
Tesman,    William,    192 
Thomasson,   Osmond,   92 
Thompson,    Gulleik,    see    Saue 
Thompson,   Hans,   290 
Thompson,    Helge,    159 


Thompson,   John,    341 

Thompson,    K 

Thompson,    Nels,    296 

Thompson,    Paul,    360 

Thompson,   Sara,   58 

Thompson,   Thomas,   290 

Thompson,  Thomas  A.,  96,  114 

Thompson,    T.    C..,    234 

Thompson,   Tore,   203 

Thompson,   Oien,   47,    54 

Thorgrimson,   Jacob 

Thornton,    Ben,    360 

Thorson    (Thompson),    Xels,    45,    55, 

56,    59,    62 
Thorson,    Paul,    373 
Thorstad,  Anne,   260 
Thronson,    Nils,    371 
Thun,  John,  369 
Tistele,    Ole,    273 
Tollefsjord,    John,    120 
Tollefsjord,   Ole,    120 
Tollefson,   Anna,   208 
Tollefson,    Gunnuf.    344 
Tollefson,    Hans,    338 
Tollefson,   Ole,    344 
Tollefson,    Syvert,    147 
Tollefson,    Tonnes,    204,    208 
Tollefsrude,    Christian    H.,    70 
TolU-fsrude,    Christopher    II.,    302 
Tollefsrude,   Ilalgrim   L 
Tollefsrude,  Hans  C.,  70,  213,  215 
Tollefsrude,   Hans   II.,   302 
Tollefsrude,    Hovel,    302 
Tollefsrude,    Johannes    II.,    302 
Tollefsrude,    Ole    Monson.    302,    303 
Tollefsrude-Ballandby,    Tollcf,   217 
Torblaa,   Lars,  234 
Torgerson,   Ole,   347,   348,   349 
Torgerson,    Peder,    286 
Torison,    Halstein,    94,   231,   234,    357 
Torison,    Torris,    357 
Torstenson,  Jacob,   301 
Torstensen,  Niels,   335 
Torstenson,   O!e,    301 
Torstenson,  Torsten,   301 
Tostenson,   Ole,   371 
Torvold,   Anders   O.,   276 
Traim,    Kjetil,   272 
Traim,    Knut,    272 
Traim,  Ole,  272 


406 


NORWEGIAN  IMMIGRATION 


Traim,  Thov  K.,  272 

Train,  Ole  O.,  208 

Trovatten,    Ole    K.,    81,    82,    83,    85, 

243,  252,  269 
Trostem,   Henrik  H.,   217 
Trostem,    Ingeborg,    217 
Trostem,   Knud,  217 
Tufte,     Hermund     N.,     see     Hermo 

Nilson 

Tufte,  Nels,  see  Nilson 
Tufte,  Sven,  129 
Turkop,    Halvor   E-,    366 
Tutland,   Osmond,    356 
Tuttle,  Albert,    137 
Tuttle,   Charles,   137 
Tuttle,   Henry,   137 
Tvedt,  Torger  T.,   342 
Tveit,  Christen  J.,  293 
Tveito,  Gunnar,  234 
Tveito,  Hans,  281,   282 
Tverberg,  Hans  P.,  249,  250 
Tverberg,  John  P.,  249 
Tveten,  Knut  G.,  338 
Tygum,    Ingebrigt    LM    332 
Tyrebakken,  Knut  G.,  218 
Tysland,    Knut   K.,    355 
Tyvang,    Glus    P.,    260 
Tserum,  Jens  T.,   307 
Taerum,  Torger  J.,  307 
Tommerstigen,   Anders  J.,   224 
Tommerstigen,   Johannes,    312 
Tommerstigen,    Olive,    312 
Tommerstigen,  Peter,  312 

UHLEN,  Hans,  220,  298 

Ullebaer,   Tostein,    261 

Ullensager,  Askild,  213 

Ulsak,   Aslak,   217 

Ulven,    Sjur,    199,    200,    201,    233 

Unde,   Britha,   202 

Unde,   Erik,  202 

Unde,   Ole,    154,    202,    265 

Unde,   Peder  J.,   153,    199,  200,   201, 

222,   233,   265 
Unonius,    Gustav,    297 
Urland,  Arne,    152 

VALA,  Gunder  H.,  293 
Valder,    Hans,    96,    114 


Vale,   Anders,   300 

Vale,  Arve  G.,  293 

Vale,    Hans    A.,    see    Hans    Arveson 

Vale,  John,  291,   300 

Vale,    Ole   J.,    291,    300 

Valkaasa,    Halvor,    294 

Valle,    Lars,   364 

Valle,   Ole,   363 

Valle,    Ole   H.,    143,    363 

Valle,    Sigrid   P.,    133 

Valoen,    Peder   H.,   338 

Vambheim,  Nils,  234 

Van    der    Bilt,    Jan    A.,    37 

Vanderbilt,   Commodore,   37 

Van  der  Wteir,  Jacob,  42 

Vange,  Ingebrigt  N.,  273 

Vange,  Ole,  273 

Vangen,   Anna   Marie    H.,    307 

Vangen,    Ivar   H.,    266,    306,    338 

Vangsness,  Sjur  S.,  333 

Van  Sant,  Claes,  36 

Vasberg,  Bjorn  T.,  251 

Vatuame,   Helge,  92 

Ve,   Ole  T.,  218 

Vedfald,  Gunder,  207,  209 

Vedfald,   Olav,   209 

Vee,  Herman  T.,  305 

Vegli,   Nils   O.,   206 

Vehus,   Jens   P.,    185 

Venaas,  Gisle,  271 

Veste,    Thorbjorn,    100 

Vestreim,   Kolbein,    182 

Vestremo,  Christian  I,.,  300 

Vetlahuso,    Anna,    44 

Vetti,  Anders  K.,  359 

Vibito,  Jorgen  A.   Nilson,  293 

Vik,  Anders,  see  Week 

Vik,   Anne,   348 

Vik,   Guttorm  T.,   246 

Vik,  Johan,  see  Week 

Vik,  Torbjorn  G.,  246,  283 

Vikje,  Nils,  182 

Vindedal,  Josef  J.,  307 

Vindeig,   Gunnul   O.,    172,    174,    177, 

180,   185,   189,  256 
Vindeig,  Helleik,   180,   181 
Vindeig,  Knud  O.,   179,   180 
Vinje,  Arne  Anderson,  151,  199,  200, 

201,   203,   233,   304 
Vinje,  Martha,  151 


INDEX 


407 


Void,   John,    373 
Vaegli,    Nils    O.,    143 
Vrerhaug,    Hans,    215 
Vaerken,    Ole   A.,    267 
Vaete,    Eli    K.,   264 
Vaete,    Halle,    100 
Yaeterud,   Knud   R.,  208 

WAGLEY,  see  Vegli 

Wait,    Guro,    287 

Wait,    Reuben,   287 

Waller,    Tver,    90 

Waller,   ToIIef,    298 

Warner,    H.    L-,    137 

Warner,   Milton   S.,    137 

Washington,   George,   42 

Weaver,   Griswold,    137 

Week,  Andrew,   198,   199,   234,   350 

Week,    John    O.,    198,    199,    234,    350 

Weeks,   Wier   S.,   356,   357 

Wennes,    Peder,    373 

Wheeler,   John,    167,    249 

Wigeland,    Andrew,    281 

Wigeland,   Arentz,   281,    282 

Wigeland,   G.   A.,    235 


Wikko,  Nils  O.,  218 
Willerup,   C.   B.,   78 
William,  Hans,   193 
Williams,   Mrs.   Julia   K.,    151 
Wrilson,    Edwin   O.,    207 
Wing,   John,   360 
Wittenberg,   Jens,    39 
Wold,  Syvver,  366 
Wright,    John,    151 

YGRE,   Lars,   150 
Ytreboe,   Ole   H.,    188 
Ytreli,  Erik  J.,  307,  308 
Ytreli,    Iver   I.,    307,    308 

Odegaard,   Anders   S.,    305 

Odegaarden,    Gunhild,    139,    146,    206 

Odegaarden,    Jori,    144 

Odvin,   Peter  I,.,   334 

Oie,    Erik,    192 

(Hen,   Tollef  O.,    287 

Oiesoen,    Ole,    192 

Olman,   Sjur   S.,  268,  270 

Osterbro,   Mikkel    K.,   307 

Ovrebo,  Anders  S.,  305 


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